• QUALIFICATIONS:
  
• School Psychologists have training in both Psychology and Education.
• They are required to have a Master's degree
• Must be licenced by the state
• Must understand child development, school systems and organization, mental health, behavior, learning styles, and effective teaching
  

• JOB DESCRIPTION:
  
• School Psychologists work with students, parents, and educators to make sure that students are recieving the services that they need through some of the following ways:

• Consultation-
  
• Work with teachers, parents, and administrators to find help and solutions to student learning and behavior problems

• Assessment-
• School Psychologists use several techniques to determine eligibility and diagnosis of students referred for special education:
  

• Standardized tests-

• These tests are normed:  compares student's performance to that of other individuals his/her age or grade
• These are often used to find IQ and Achievement scores (academic skills)
  
• i.e. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Chilcren-Fourth  Edition: (WISC-IV)
• i.e. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III)
• i.e. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II)
  

• Rating Scales & Checklists-
• These are often use to determine a student's specific behaviors or skills
• They are often given to teachers, parents, and the student
• i.e. Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2)
• i.e. Conner's Rating Scale-Revised (CRS-R)
  

• Observations-
• School Psychologists often observe the student in several natural settings to see the student's behavior and social interactions
  

• Interviews-
• School Psychologists give interviews to students, parents, and teachers to find out information regarding a student's background.  They might ask questions regarding student's:
• Concerns
  
• Histories
• Relationships
• Interests and goals,
  

• Team Collaboration-
• School Psychologists work on a team (along with case managers, diagnosticians, speech pathologists, nurse, occupational/physical therapists, administrators, teachers, ect.) to help develop student's IEP and determine placement, instruction, and goals
  

• Intervention-

• School Psychologists could help students with psychological counseling and help families deal with a crisis such as for death, illness, separations, or community trauma
  
• School Psychologists can help recommend strategies to increase learning and behavior management
• They also help to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions being used based on student progress
  

• Prevention-

• School Psychologists can help identify potential learning difficulties
• Promote tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of diversity within the school communities

• Resources and Reasearch-
• School Psychologists have information on resources and evidence-based research concerning special education