Due today at 6PM !!!

PSYC393: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

There are no word limits or requirements for any question. Please write as much as necessary to answer each question.

Question #1 (30 points total)

Mr. Smith, a third grade teacher at Make Believe Elementary, consults with Ms. Jones, a school psychologist in the district, regarding behavioral problems in his class. Make-Believe Elementary implements both behavioral and academic RtI models. Mr. Smith tells Ms. Jones that several students are exhibiting disruptive class behaviors. As a first step, Ms. Jones decides to examine the results of the fall behavioral screening for Mr. Smith’s class. For this screener, Mr. Smith fills out a brief behavior rating scale that assesses externalizing behaviors and yields a T-score for individual students. Using the behavior rating scale interpretation guide, Ms. Jones and Mr. Smith obtain the following results:

Behavior Rating Scale Score Interpretation Guide

T-Score Range	Risk Classification
10-59	Average
60-69	Elevated
70+	Very Elevated

Mr. Smith’s Class Behavior Rating Results (Fall)

Student ID#	T-Score	Risk Classification
1	59	Average
2	62	Elevated
3	64	Elevated
4	65	Elevated
5	62	Elevated
6	62	Elevated
7	70	Very Elevated
8	71	Very Elevated
9	54	Average
10	55	Average
11	45	Average
12	42	Average
13	65	Elevated
14	64	Elevated
15	61	Elevated
16	73	Very Elevated
17	72	Very Elevated
18	74	Very Elevated
19	66	Elevated
20	64	Very Elevated

To determine the percentage of children who are at risk for significant behavioral problems in the class, Ms. Jones and Mr. Smith graph the results, as depicted below.

EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 \s

Part A (18 points):

A.1 (6 points): What should Ms. Jones recommend regarding intervention? For this question, be clear to specify the RtI tier level(s) you are addressing.

Answer:

A.2 (6 points): What might the intervention look like? What types of content might it address?

Answer:

A.3 (6 points): Ms. Jones selects an intervention program and concludes that it has a strong evidence base. Can she be certain the intervention will be effective when implemented at Make Believe Elementary? Why or why not?

Answer:

Part B (12 Points):

Ms. Jones and Mr. Smith proceed with the intervention from Part A. As specified in Make Believe Elementary’s RtI model, they conduct the behavioral screening three times over the course of the academic year. Each time, they calculate the percentage of students at each risk level. Upon graphing the data, they obtain the following results:

EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 \s

B.1 (6 points): Has Ms. Jones’ intervention plan generally improved the class’s behavioral problems? Why or why not?

Answer:

B.2 (6 points): Has Ms. Jones solved the problem? Given the class’s status at the end of the school year (Spring), what should Ms. Jones’ next steps be?

Answer:

Question #2 (30 points)

At the beginning of the school year, Sam P. Kid, a second grade student at Make Believe Elementary, was referred for intervention due to concerns regarding his oral reading fluency (ORF) skills. As a result, he was given a Tier 2 reading intervention. The Tier 2 intervention was led by the classroom teacher and conducted with a group of 5 students (including Sam). Specifically, this intervention focused on using choral reading to promote fluency. During the intervention, Sam’s progress in ORF was monitored once per month by measuring the number of words he read correctly per minute from a grade-level passage. His phonics/decoding skills also were monitored once per month by measuring the number of nonsense words he read correctly per minute (NWF). The following displays his progress monitoring data from September through January.

EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 \s

EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 \s

Part A (20 points):

Use the four problem-solving steps to evaluate Sam’s skills in oral reading fluency and to make recommendations for further intervention. Your answer should describe each step clearly and thoroughly.

Answer:

Part B (10 points):

Given what you know about the five main areas of reading, why might Sam be experiencing problems with ORF?

Answer:

Part C (10 points):

What is a student’s academic ecology (AE)? Define and describe the three components of AE. For each AE component, describe at least two factors that could be contributing to Sam’s problem.

Answer:

Question #3 (20 points)

Thanks in part to the great teachers and school psychologists at Make Believe Elementary, Sam is all grown up and has earned his credentials as a school psychologist. Administrators in Sam’s school have indicated to him that the district would like to move toward implementing a RtI model and have asked Sam to take the lead in this reform effort. What are the essential features that should be included in the model? Be sure to address features related to assessment, intervention, and prevention.

Answer:

Question #4: (20 points)

How has the role of the school psychologist shifted over time (from the late 1890s to the present)? Identify at least three events that illustrate the nature of this change. What is the significance of these events, and how have they impacted the evolution of the school psychologist’s role?

Answer:

Optional Extra Credit (1 point)

To respond to the following question, please bold your answer choice.

The first school psychology training program in the United States was housed in:

a) Columbia University

b) New York University

c) Harvard University

d) Montclair State University

Mr. Smith's Student Behavior Ratings: Percentage of Students by Risk Classification

Average

Category 1 20.000000 Elevated

Category 1 45.000000 Very Elevated

Category 1 35.000000

Risk Classification

Percetage of Students

Percentage of Students by Risk Classification

Average

Fall Winter Spring 20.000000 60.000000 80.000000 Elevated

Fall Winter Spring 45.000000 25.000000 10.000000 Very Elevated

Fall Winter Spring 35.000000 15.000000 10.000000

Percentage of Students

Sam Kid's ORF Progress in a Tier 2 Intervention

Sam P. Kid

September October November December January 44.000000 56.000000 62.000000 66.000000 70.000000 Benchmark

September October November December January 72.000000 76.000000 80.000000 84.000000 89.000000

Words Read Correctly Per Minute

Sam Kid's NWF Progress in a Tier 2 Intervention

Sam P. Kid

September October November December January 5.000000 7.000000 8.000000 10.000000 9.000000 Benchmark

September October November December January 10.000000 12.000000 15.000000 17.000000 19.000000

Nonsense Words Read Correctly Per Minute