ERIC Number: ED282930
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Jan
Pages: 58
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Evaluation of the Psychological Services Program.
Strusinski, Marianne
This evaluation was conducted to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Psychological Services Program in the Dade County Public Schools, Florida. The program provides psychological evaluations for students under consideration for special education. This includes students with emotional, mental, and/or physical handicaps and gifted students. Special emphasis was put on the continuing backlog of students waiting for psychological evaluation and the delays in the process. The specific topics studied were: the level of needs for program services; the duties and activities of school psychologists; the productivity of the program; the level of false-positive evaluation; the supervision of school psychologist; and standards of quality in the psychological evaluations. Questionnaires were used to collect the necessary data from school psychologists and principals. A random sample of 100 cases was analyzed for descriptive information, and the psychological services models used by other major public school systems were investigated by telephone surveys. Results showed that the level of need for the program overwhelmed the existing staff of school psychologists; and that more school psychologists should be hired. It was also found that certain components of the psychological evaluation process were not operating at optimal efficiency. The study recommended several changes to the program in order to meet the needs of the district. Appendices include a copy of the school psychologist questionnaire) and the interview form of the telephone survey of other schools. (JAZ)
Descriptors: Accountability, Classroom Observation Techniques, Elementary Secondary Education, Eligibility, Evaluation Methods, Principals, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, Psychological Evaluation, Psychological Services, Public Schools, Questionnaires, School Psychologists, Special Education
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL. Office of Educational Accountability.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A