behavioral assessment in school psychology

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ssessments in schools are performed for a wide variety of reasons. A school district wishing to decide whether to continue a rather costly remedial reading program may ask for an assessment of student progress and overall cost effec- tiveness before deciding the fate of the program. A district may set specific priorities for improving instruction based on the results of district-wide achieve- ment tests. A teacher determines a students' grade in spelling from accumulated scores across tests. Each of these are examples where an assessment is conducted to make decisions. Clearly, the assessment process can have a significant impact on a large portion of the school population. Group assessment is probably the most frequent type of assessment procedure used in schools. Almost all districts have a testing program in which students are routinely administered standardized achievement and/or aptitude tests. Class- room teachers using informal and teacher-made materials administer group tests to determine student progress. Although these group assessment measures may have direct impact on individuals, school psychologists are much more involved in assessments of individual performance. Used primarily to make decisions regarding an individual child's educational progress and psychological disposi- tion, this type of assessment leads to changes that may directly affect a child's life. These changes can range from minor variations in teaching style to sweep- ing modifications of a child's school, classroom, educational classification, and possibly home. It is this latter type of assessment, individual assessment, with which this volume is concerned. Let us begin by examining in more detail the purposes of assessment.