School Psychology Review

Few studies have examined threat assessment team recommendations and how they vary by race/ethnicity, and none have evaluated the particular two-tiered approach of the Salem-Keizer Cascade Model (SKCTAM). The current study investigates school threat assessment team recommendations related to social support and surveillance and how they vary by student race/ethnicity. All recommendations (n = 274) were obtained from one large Northwestern school district (with an enrollment of approximately 40,000 students) between the 2012–2013 and 2018–2019 school years. Results indicate an even distribution of supportive and surveillance recommendations and no discernable pattern across these two categories in the most common recommendations. The most prevalent social support recommendations involved encouraging positive future activities, mentorship relationships, mental health services, and safe means of reporting thoughts and intentions to harm others. The most common surveillance recommendations included monitoring communications at school and home and having intermittent check-ins with students following threats. Overall, few differences in recommendations related to race/ethnicity were found. Accordingly, consistent with existing research, threat assessment practices can potentially address critical student issues and prevent school violence more equitably.

Within the field of school psychology, we often put a premium on evidence-based practices, but what is often missing from these conversations is a consideration of replication and open science principles in the evaluation of evidence. Amid growing concerns regarding the replicability of psychological science, calls for greater research transparency, and more careful consideration of the conditions under which a finding might replicate, research suggest that school psychologists’ uptake of open science practices may lag behind that of other social science disciplines. The present paper synthesizes the literature on the replication crisis and corresponding credibility revolution in psychology, describes various open science practices, and considers barriers and adaptations needed to implement these practices in school-based research. The paper ends with recommendations on how to better give away the science of school psychology via transparent research practices so that research consumers can better reap the benefits of evidence-based practice.

In this study, we examine the dynamic interaction between (a) text characteristics such as genre, number of multisyllabic words, order of texts, and time of assessment (i.e., beginning, middle, or end of the school year), and (b) student fluency described here as text reading efficiency (TRE; Kim et al., Citation2021) in Spanish and in English. TRE is operationalized as words read correct per minute (WCPM). Participants were 817 s grade Spanish native speakers attending different types of bilingual programs. To examine the interaction of text characteristics and TRE, we first equated texts and then ran a series of mixed effects models. We also examined text characteristics descriptively. Findings indicated that, in general, text characteristics, order of texts, and different timepoints had a significant effect on students’ TRE. Although a clear pattern of differences between texts within and across languages did not emerge, regardless of language, students read fewer words in texts in the beginning of the year than in the middle and at the end of the year. Spanish texts included more multisyllabic words than did English texts, which could explain, in part, lower WCPM in Spanish than in English.

This study examined the contribution of three writing enabling skills (i.e., feedback perception, self-efficacy, and self-regulation) on writing performance among Hispanic students. Participants were 261 students in grades 3-5. Approximately 60% of students were Emerging Bilingual (EB) enrolled in dual language programming. Students completed writing enablers scales and three writing compositions. EB students were classified in proficiency levels based on state-mandated language assessment scores. The factor structure of the writing enablers scales deviated from the original measures. Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling, we found that, while feedback perception was not related to writing, self-efficacy and self-regulation significantly predicted writing outcomes, though in opposite directions. Students with different English proficiency showed significant differences in self-efficacy but not feedback perception and self-regulation. Results showed that students with higher writing self-efficacy exhibited better writing performance. Students more proficient in English had stronger self-efficacy, with highly advanced EB students reporting the highest scores.

We conducted a systematic documentary content analysis of state laws and state education agency (SEA) disciplinary guidance from all 50 states in the United States. We focused on zero tolerance policies, mandates for review of disproportionality in discipline data, the utilization of school resource officers in discipline, corporal punishment, and prevention. Knowledge of practices throughout the United States is critical for school psychologists to advocate for socially just disciplinary practices and reform. Most state laws require zero tolerance practices for weapons and drug related offenses, yet very few mandate zero tolerance for minor offenses such as insubordination or disrespect. Only nine states require SEAs to review data for disproportionality or require school districts to remedy disproportionality when it is present. Eleven states allow for school resource officers to be involved in discipline outside of high-level safety concerns. Additionally, 23 states still allow corporal punishment in schools. Many states offer guidance to districts on the implementation of multitiered systems of support (MTSS), positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), restorative practices, progressive discipline, and classroom-based interventions. Implications for school psychologists advocating for disciplinary reform at the local, state, and national level will be discussed. Impact Statement: The researchers conducted a systematic national content analysis of school discipline laws and SEA guidance documents. We hope that the findings about school disciplinary laws and SEA guidance in each state will assist school psychologists in targeting their advocacy and reform efforts for more equitable and proactive disciplinary practices at the local, state, and national level.