ABSTRACT
The field of school psychology is rooted in the practice of assessing children to understand their academic, social, emotional, behavioral, and psychological characteristics and needs. Although school psychologists are no longer simply Binet testers (Fagan, 1985), psychological assessment (e.g., IQ, social/emotional functioning, and academic performance) continues to dominate school psychological service delivery. Currently, school psychologists spend about 47% of their time conducting evaluations for special education (Castillo, Curtis, Chappel, & Cunningham, 2011), which does not include other types of assessments that school psychologists conduct for other services (e.g., assessment for developing and evaluating individual interventions as well as school-wide assessments such as program evaluations). While the predominance of assessment in service delivery has been criticized (e.g., too much focus on diagnosing the problem), there is widespread agreement that traditional psychological assessment is integral to effective service delivery (NASP, 2010). School psychologists need to conduct appropriate assessments in order to make valid decisions that can improve outcomes for children, which is part of data-based decision-making (Batsche, Castillo, Dixon, & Forde, 2008; NASP 2010). While requiring school psychologists to engage in data-based decision-making is important, there are significant concerns about the fairness of assessment tools and procedures, particularly for diverse populations (Valencia & Suzuki, 2001).
