School Psychology Forum
General Issue
Volume 11, Issue 3 (Fall 2017)
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The Role of Measurement Interval in Rate of Improvement Calculation
pp. 77–90
ABSTRACT: Assessing a student’s level and rate of improvement on an academic skill is a contemporary approach to the identification of specific learning disabilities. This approach, broadly categorized as responsiveness to intervention, however, does not obviate educators from scrutinizing the psychometric qualities of the data used to make important decisions about students. By way of illustration, we demonstrate that the measurement interval used to calculate rate of improvement can have substantial implications for evaluating the extent to which a student’s rate of improvement is judged to be acceptable. Consequently, it is important for educators to fully appraise the method by which a student’s rate of improvement is quantified. Suggestions for practical use are offered. Further, we pose a few questions that must be empirically tested if this contemporary approach to the identification of specific learning disabilities is to avoid the limitations of its predecessor ability–achievement discrepancy model.
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Improving Oral Reading Fluency in Elementary School Children: Comparing the Effectiveness of Repeated Readings and Video Self-Modeling
pp. 91-104
ABSTRACT: Video self-modeling (VSM) is a relatively new technique used to improve reading fluency. At this point, VSM has primarily been used to supplement evidence-based reading interventions such as repeated readings (RR). There is limited to no research evaluating the independent effects of VSM in comparison to interventions such as RR. The goal of the current study was to compare the independent effects of VSM and RR on improving reading fluency by using an alternating treatment single case design (A/BC/B + C). Four elementary-age children with reading difficulties participated in this study. Results suggest medium to large effects when RR was implemented and small-to-medium–sized effects with VSM alone. The additive effects of combining VSM and RR did not produce a higher effect than RR on improving reading fluency.
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Personality and Graduate Academic Performance Among Counselor Education and School Psychology Students
pp. 105-122
ABSTRACT: General personality was assessed of 104 graduate students in school counseling, mental health counseling, and school psychology programs in the United States using the Big Five model of personality domains. The students in three programs reported similarities and differences in their preference and performance in domain knowledge, with more counselor education students preferring counseling courses and more school psychology students preferring quantitative, consultation, and practicum courses. The three groups demonstrated group differences on Extraversion and Openness to Experience domains. The correlational findings confirmed the importance of general personality traits in relation to the academic performance of graduate students. A number of the Big Five NEO Personality Inventory-Revised general personality domains, including Openness to Experience, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness, were significant predictors of either GRE performance or undergraduate GPA. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. The findings suggest that faculty members in counselor education and school psychology programs should consider teaching and mentoring in the ways that they can support their students’ nonacademic needs and foster resources and opportunities that would help students to have a more pleasant experience in the programs.
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