Psychoeducational Interviews

For generations, assessment and its focus on standards and accountability have controlled the public discourse regarding the improvement of education. Discussion about balancing achievement within the curriculum, making the goals of the individualized education programs (IEP) compatible with high standards, and determining what constitutes a thoughtfully directed curricular focus are common. These concern focus attention on the performance and progress of all learners. Assessment drives instruction, but assessments often lack the primary goal of guiding instructional decisions. In meeting IEP goals, the assessment used which is often a pencil and paper test should match the instruction given. In many instances, “the test” is not an assessment

Standardized tests have been historically used to measure how students compare with each other and how much of a particular curriculum they have learned. Increasingly, standardized tests are being used to make major decisions about students, such as grade promotion or high school graduation, and schools(Galegroup). Standardized testing is not an effective measurement of how capable and knowledgeable a student is due to it negatively impacting schools, its serious limitations, and its harm on student’s learning.

Motivational interviewing is a collaborative, person-centred form of communication which focuses on the language of change. ‘It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion’ (Miller et al., 2013, p.29). The technique of motivational interviewing was developed by two psychologists, Bill Miller and Steve Rollnick. Motivational interviewing is therapeutic to patients as it is based on a partnership, rather than a nurse-patient relationship (Heckman et al., 2010). There are four processes of motivational interviewing; engaging, focusing, evoking and planning. These processes of motivational interviewing are used daily in the nursing profession to facilitate in the delivery of high quality care to ambivalent patients. In this composition, I will critique my digital recording where I talked to a patient using the processes of motivational interviewing. I will focus on the processes of engaging and evoking.

Standardized tests may be used for a wide variety of educational purposes. For example, they may be used to determine a young child’s readiness for kindergarten, identify students who need special-education services or specialized academic support, place students in different academic programs or course levels, or award diplomas and other educational certificates.

competencies? and teachers’ effectiveness. According to Gustafson, this leads to a rigid environment that is not conducive to learning for students of low SES. Gustafson uses his real life experience as an educator to illustrate how the emphasis on standardized testing is negatively affecting students of low SES. For example, Gustafson recounts an eighth-grade student of low SES mentioning his accent and asking where Gustafson was from. Gustafson told her he taught in Chicago the previous year, the student response was, “That’s not in Brownsville, (Texas) is it?” (60). Critics may argue that the student lacked intelligence, but according to Gustafson the problem is a lack of experience. By assuming all students in the American education system share similar cultural experiences—in this case, domestic travel—the tests privilege some students and disadvantage

Standardized testing has become one of the most popular types of testing in U.S. public schools to date. Students take numerous standardized tests throughout their childhood schooling. (Studies show that a typical student takes an average of 112 mandated standardized tests between Pre-K and 12th grade.) While standardized testing is one of the main procedures that Universities use to judge incoming students, it is not proven to be the most effective way to convey a student’s actual intelligence level. The U.S. should not focus so heavily on standardized testing because it is not a complete accurate measurement of a student’s intelligence.

The author explains that multiple means of data collection must be used to identify students. Additionally, assessments tools used by educators must be reliable and valid. Furthermore, educators need to frequently gather data on students who are considered at risk several times per year in the areas of reading and math. The author further explains that a team of educators should identify evidence-based instructional strategies the general education teacher should apply before making a special education referral for services. Finally, the author states that data should be collected to determine if the student is responding to

Finally, Ms. Bryant was asked how she feels about students with intellectual and learning disabilities being required to take the same End of Grade Test (EOG) as their non-disabled counterparts. She finds the situation to be unfair. Students who read on a first or second grade level have to take 6th grade EOG’s does not make any sense. Furthermore, does not accurately measure their progress. She believes they should be test on their ability instead of grade level. Student success will be accurately measured and they will feel like they have accomplished something.

There are also much better ways to test a student’s capability to learn; a 2006 Center on Education Policy conducted a study and found that a curriculum that follows state standards and uses the test data as feedback led to higher scores than those that prioritized test-taking skills. When teachers are more focused on teaching material rather than test strategies, their students benefit from it (“Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Abilities?”). Several alternative methods to state assessments for measuring a student’s academic success include comparing high school graduation rates and the number of dropouts, offering advanced placement courses, and looking at the percentage of the former students that are admitted to colleges. State assessments are more harmful than helpful to students; they are a large cause of test anxiety and a majority of teachers can never fully prepare their students. Although state assessments are an easy way to be able to see the growth of students, that does not mean that they are the best

The first goal of this training program is to teach a school psychologist in training all about assessment methods and protocols. Secondly, this training program will teach a school psychologist in training all about clinical diagnostics. This training program will be designed to help a school psychologist in training develop the appropriate knowledge and skills that are required to assess and diagnose a client. During this training, the trainee will learn the fundamental theories and principles of assessments to help the trainee recognize that there are various assessment methods that can be used to assess a client in this profession. Additionally, the trainee

Over the last 30 years, establishing appropriate academic taxonomy disciplines for children with disabilities has been a challenge. However, the laws governing how we teach our students with disabilities and how we instruct them throughout the day is constructed by different legislations that have shaped the very existence of Special Education programs. All laws, in general, are to protect the student and family in the public school system by providing guidelines and legal aspects of the law are upheld through the child’s Individual Education Plan/Program (IEP), and policy and procedural safeguards. These safeguards outline the very essence of situational outcomes, compliance, and the necessary procedures in place for the parent to take action against the school district

Hey Issac, I hope all is well. I enjoyed reading you little story about your elderly petite morning patient, it was cute. You made a lot of good points about first impressions and how it can help make the therapist sessions much smoother. This I believe is important because just like you and I, we can tell when people do not want to deal with us of are impatient or are just having a bad day. This energy sometimes rubs off on us and we treat this person just how they treat us and at the end of the day no one is happy. I believe as future therapist nonverbal communications can make or break you. I have had patients that wanted to give me attitude and wanted to be hard to deal with, but I always made it a point to redirect them and change the session around in a positive way.

Michal is a boy born in Florida who has some special needs. He was born with a brain stem, but not a whole brain. He loves to hear and listen to people talk to him, yet he is morosely incapable of sight, speech, or even understand basic information. He was forced to take an alternate version of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. This year he will be forced to take this test again. He is not alone. This New York times article from February 13, 2014 goes on to give an example of another case. This time it is the story of Andrea Rediske, a Florida parent of a child who is slowly dying from a life burdened by brain damage and cerebral palsy. The state tried to force this child, Ethan, to take this test. In the meantime while Andrea was fighting the school system, Ethan Rediske passed away. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our children aren’t all dying of terrible diseases, but these standardized testing is killing our brothers and sisters creativity and passion for school instead.

In recent years testing has been a huge component of public education in the United States. Students take year long classes and then are forced to take long exams based on what they have learned. The problem with this is that many of these classes don’t provide students with the tools that they need to function outside the classroom. It is true that some of these classes are necessary and need to be taught, however, this is not the case for all of them. Standardized testing needs to be re-evaluated and replaced with more beneficial ways of teaching students information. If more schools offered classes that taught students important skills like how to budget or made the material more interesting students would be more engaged and would be

It is estimated that 20% of children living in the United States experience a mental illness in a given year, at a cost of nearly $14 billion. In children, mental illness is more prevalent than leukemia, diabetes, and AIDS combined; far more money is spent on mental disorders than on any other childhood illness, including asthma, trauma, upper respiratory infections, and infectious diseases. Although nearly 1 in 5 youths suffers from a psychiatric disorder, 75-85% do not receive specialty mental health services. Those who do, primarily receive services in non-specialty sectors (primary care, schools, child welfare, juvenile justice) where mental health expertise may be limited. Untreated or inadequately treated psychiatric disorders persist over decades, become increasing intractable to treatment, impair adherence to medical treatment regimens, and incur