Performance Evaluation and Accountability for School Psychologists: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The call for school psychologists to demonstrate accountability in the evaluation of services at the individual, group, and system levels comes at a time when school districts nationally are pursuing personnel evaluation models that link teachers' instructional practices to student achievement. School psychologists have an opportunity to take a leadership role in determining how the impact of their service delivery will be evaluated. The purpose of this article is to: (a) describe the legislative context and historical trends for professional accountability for school psychologists; (b) provide four key principles to consider in designing an accountability system for school psychologists; (c) outline the advantages, disadvantages, and recommended guidelines for using case studies (i.e., single-case designs) and rubric-based approaches for evaluating school psychological services; (d) illustrate how case studies are used to demonstrate accountability in a state-wide school psychology internship program; and (e) discuss the implications for the graduate preparation of school psychologists. C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluating the performance of school psychologists: Current status and future directions with a 360‐degree evaluation process

“…Consistent with the NASP Framework, Morrison (2013) developed four key principles for evaluating the performance of school psychologists based on the literature pertaining to the assessment of school psychology graduate students’ competencies. Morrison's (2013) four key principles align well with the policy guidelines set by the National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations (NAPSO) to assist states in developing evaluation systems for school‐based support personnel (http://www.napso.org).…”

“…Consistent with the NASP Framework, Morrison (2013) developed four key principles for evaluating the performance of school psychologists based on the literature pertaining to the assessment of school psychology graduate students’ competencies. Morrison's (2013) four key principles align well with the policy guidelines set by the National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations (NAPSO) to assist states in developing evaluation systems for school‐based support personnel (http://www.napso.org). These key principles are: (a) the use of multiple measures, including at least one measure of impact on student outcomes through the use of case studies; (b) reliability and validity, with validity anchored to the NASP Practice Model; (c) utility for distinguishing different levels of proficiency; and (d) linked to professional growth and improvement.…”

“…The first key principle is that the evaluation process uses multiple measures, including at least one measure of impact on student outcomes through the use of case studies. The use of multiple measures is in contrast to the reliance on performance appraisal rubrics and rating scales as the sole measure of a school psychologist's performance (Morrison, 2013). Performance appraisal rubrics and rating scales have value as they can be aligned with professional training standards and they provide a direct measure of skills and behaviors in the settings in which they are expected to be performed (Prus & Waldron, 2008).…”

“…Incorporating the use of case studies as an additional performance evaluation measure provides greater flexibility in assessing a variety of professional competencies (e.g., data‐based decision‐making, problem‐solving, consultation, academic and behavioral intervention design, communication skills) in the natural context in which the school psychologist works (Morrison, 2013). Case studies can also be used to evaluate a school psychologist's impact on student outcomes for cases in which the school psychologist was involved in problem‐solving and intervention planning.…”

“…Despite the efforts of the NASP Personnel Assessment Task Force to encourage states and school districts to improve the means by which school psychologists are evaluated, evidence from the field indicates serious concerns. Performance appraisal rubrics are most commonly used as a sole measure to evaluate a school psychologist (Morrison, 2013). Given that school psychologists may contractually fall under the classification of “instructional personnel” in their school district, it may still be the case that a performance appraisal rubric designed to evaluate the performance of a teacher be modified for use in evaluating a school psychologist.…”