Teacher Ratings of Three School Psychology Report Recommendation Styles

Abstract

Educators are primary consumers of information provided in school psychology reports. There is disagreement in the literature as to whether teachers prefer briefer recommendations as compared to more detailed and specific recommendations. Specific recommendations can been seen as prescriptive and leading to higher requirements for accountability by educators. This study initially assessed teachers' opinions concerning the level of detail provided in a model report with recommendation sections presented with low, medium, and high levels of specificity. Participants were 102 certified teachers taking continuing education courses. Each read a fictional report followed by the three recommendation styles presented in varied orders. Teachers rated each style for relevance, individualization, clarity, and likelihood for use. They indicated which style would be preferred for a child in their classroom, in preparing an Individual Education Plan (IEP), and for use with parents. The low specificity recommendations received lower ratings, while the medium and high levels did not differ. Overall, teachers preferred the highest specificity recommendations for a student in their class and for funding applications. For use with parents there was a slight preference for medium specificity recommendations. Teachers also indicated that the inclusion of the specific format elements surveyed is beneficial and that detail is preferred over brevity. In light of these findings, school psychologists should feel comfortable in providing detailed recommendations that mirror a well crafted IEP. at UCSF LIBRARY & CKM on April 8, 2015 cjs.sagepub.com Downloaded from Mallin et al. 259 RésuméLes enseignants sont les principaux usagers de l'information fournie dans les rapports de psychologie scolaire. Il existe des divergences dans la littérature quant à la préférence des enseignants à l'égard du type de recommandations : brèves versus spécifiques et plus détaillées. Les recommandations spécifiques peuvent été perçues comme normatives et peuvent conduire à des exigences de responsabilité plus élevées par les enseignants. Cette étude a initialement évalué l'opinion des enseignants à l'égard du niveau de détails fourni dans un modèle de rapport avec des sections de recommandation à faible, moyen et haut niveau de spécificité. 102 professeurs certifiés suivant des cours de formation continue ont participé à cette étude. Chaque participant a lu un rapport fictif suivi de trois styles de recommandations présentés dans un ordre varié. Les enseignants ont évalué chaque style sur la pertinence, l'individualisation, la clarté et la probabilité d'utilisation. Ils ont indiqué quel serait le style préférable à adopter pour préparer un plan d'enseignement individualisé (PEI), pour un enfant de leur classe, et pour une utilisation avec les parents. Le faible niveau de spécificité a reçu des cotes plus basses alors que les niveaux de spécificité moyen et élevés ont reçu des cotes comparables. En somme, les enseignants ont préféré les recommandations à niveau ...

Teachers’ preferences and perceptions of the psychological report: A systematic review

“…Approximately 91% of teacher participants were satisfied with the psychological reports they had seen over the previous school year. Consistent with previous research (Borghese & Cole, ; Mallin et al, ) however, teachers particularly rated recommendations as impractical, lacking in utility, too few, and lacking in concreteness for application. The more reports teachers reviewed, the less favorably they rated the psychological report namely in usefulness.…”

“…Teachers also reported being more likely to implement recommendations if they were practical and easy‐to‐implement. Similarly, Mallin et al () examined the recommendation section of the psychological report and also found that teachers rated detailed and specific recommendations as most favorable. Teachers were also more likely to implement recommendations with higher specificity.…”

“…Mallin et al () also examined teachers’ perceptions of recommendations offered in the psychological report. Teachers examined three sample reports and rated the recommendations section on the degree of relevance, individualization, clarity, and likelihood for use.…”

“…Though the traditional role of the school psychologist has evolved over the years, evaluating and identifying students for special education qualification continues to be a primary function (Cole & Siegal, ; Fagan & Wise, ; Fletcher, Hawkins, & Thorton, ; Mallin, Beimcik, & Hopfner, ; Reschly, ). In this role, school psychologists spend approximately 50% of their time conducting assessments and complete about 75 evaluations and psychological reports each school year (Bramlett, Murphy, Johnson, Wallingsford, & Hall, ; Hutton, Dubes, & Muir, ; Jordan, Hindes & Saklofske, ; Thomas, ).…”

“…Based on their results, Hoy and Retish (1984) recommended that evaluators put more effort and time in recommendations and IEP as teachers reported to be the least satisfied with this feature of the report. Mallin et al (2012) also examined teachersʼ perceptions of recommendations offered in the psychological report. Teachers examined three sample reports and rated the recommendations section on the degree of relevance, individualization, clarity, and likelihood for use.…”