Current issues relevant to school psychology internships are reviewed. The movement toward professional competencies and behavioral benchmarks as they relate to school psychology internships is discussed, with a concentration on American Psychological Association and National Association of School Psychologists standards. Given the emphasis on observable outcomes and assessment of competencies, implications specific to the internship year at both the specialist and doctoral levels are considered. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Several factors are pertinent to current professional practices that affect internship sites utilized by school psychology students. Possibly the most significant change affecting both specialist and doctoral programs is the movement by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) to require systematic and direct assessments of student competencies. The NASP (2010b) Standards for Graduate Preparation of School Psychologists outlines 10 integrated domains of professional competencies that graduates must demonstrate, whereas the APA (2009) Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology requires internship programs to specify education and training objectives in terms of expected competencies. Thus, instead of focusing on evidence of knowledge or an accrual of service hours, the new "culture of competence" (Belar, 2009) requires behavioral outcomes that are observable and measureable.Discussion of the organizations involved with this movement, how the requirements for systematic assessment and evaluation of competencies affect internships, and the implications for training programs follow. Although observation and quantification of behavioral outcomes is hardly a new concept to school psychology, the application of documents such as the Competency Benchmarks
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND REGULATORY AGENCIES CONCERNED WITH INTERNSHIPThe two primary organizations that evaluate school psychology internships are APA and NASP. Both professional organizations are concerned about the quality and appropriateness of internships completed by school psychology students. Other organizations involved with school psychology internships are the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), which provides the computer-matching program for doctoral students, and the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs (CDSPP), which has developed guidelines for internships that do not meet the APA standards.