School Psychology EdS
Program Purpose
We promote the growth of school psychologists who recognize the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. With compassion, integrity, and commitment, we advocate for students and their families. As disciples of the Savior, we strive to serve as He did-understanding, uplifting, and supporting others.
Aligned with the mission and aimsof Brigham Young University, the BYU School Psychology Program seeks to prepare skilled, compassionate professionals who creatively problem solve with keen intellect, strong faith, and moral character. Our program instills within our candidates the desire to continue learning and serving others throughout their lives.
Spiritually Strengthening
- Grounds training in respect for each student's worth and dignity and service to families and schools.
- Encourages ethically guided decision-making in assessment, collaboration, and interventions, reflecting stewardship and compassion.
- Fosters a commitment to community-building and service.
Intellectually Enlarging
- Teaches the use of research-supported models, professional resources, and data-based decision making to optimize student learning.
- Develops strong analytic skills for assessing students and their learning environments, including complex contextual factors.
- Promotes creative problem solving and continuous inquiry through data collection, progress monitoring, and intervention adjustment.
Character Building
- Cultivates moral character, empathy, humility, and ethical responsibility in interactions with students, families, and colleagues.
- Emphasizes compassionate implementation of interventions and sensitive responses to diverse individuals and contextual needs.
- Requires integrity and accountability in documenting outcomes and reporting intervention effectiveness.
Leading to Lifelong Learning and Service
- Instills desire for ongoing professional development: staying current with research, refining assessment skills, and adapting interventions over time.
- Models collaboration and engagement with school personnel and families as a professional responsibility.
- Emphasizes tracking progress and iterative improvement as a lifelong commitment to maximizing development.
Curricular Structure
The sequence of courses required for the Ed.S. degree in School Psychology are found on this website: https://education.byu.edu/cpse/eds. A brief overview of the School Psychology Program is also described in the Graduate Catalog and the program's handbook (pages 14-16) accessed on this website: School Psychology Handbook
National Association of School Psychologists' Domains of Practice.
We organize our curriculum according to both the NASP Domains of Practice and the four BYU Aims
Learning Outcomes
The areas of focus and domains listed below consistute the National Association for School Psychologists Practice Model
PRACTICES THAT PERMEATE ALL ASPECTS OF SERVICE DELIVERYDomain 1: Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
Domain 2: Consultation and Collaboration
School psychology students learn to ground decisions in data, and ollowing the Savior's example, collaborate compassionately with students, families and educators.
Domain 3: Interventions and Instructional Support to Develop Academic Skills
Domain 4: Interventions and Mental Health Services to Develop Social and Life Skills
Answering the call to lift and strengthen the vulnerable, school psychology students deliver targeted interventions and supports to children as living examples of lifelong learning and service.
Domain 5: School-Wide Practices to Promote Learning
Domain 6: Preventive and Responsive Services
Domain 7: Family–School Collaboration Services
School psychology students focus on an eternal perspective and the potential for happiness in all they serve. In addition to serving the one, they use best practices for broadening their impact to benefit communities and families.
Domain 8: Diversity in Development and Learning
Domain 9: Research and Program Evaluation
Domain 10: Legal, Ethical, and Professional Practice
School psychology students embrace diversity throughout their everyday practice. They adhere to laws, ethical guidelines and professional practice with integrity. Their curiousity and drive to better serve informs research and programs to improve experiences and outcomes.
Evidence of Learning
Direct Measures
Student's internship portfolios are organized around the 10 NASP domains, identical to the BYU School Psychology Program's 10 learning outcomes. Students demonstrate competencies in each of the 10 domains, including work samples and site-based evaluations of their performance. Faculty evaluate student portfolios. Faculty guidelines for evaluating students' portfolios are included in the Ed.S. Handbook (online). This information also describes the content of internship portfolios. Across students' three years in the program, each incoming cohort uses the handbook that is provided for the year that they enter the program. For example, those entering the program in 2022 and graduating in 2025 use the 2022-2023 handbook.
Practicum and internship experiences are field-based (K-12 schools). Field-based supervisors complete feedback evaluation forms during Fall and Winter semesters. These evaluation forms are explicitly aligned with the 10 NASP domains so that students receive specific feedback regarding their developing competencies. The program's handbook gives examples of these evaluations. Minimally, students are expected to receive satisfactory ratings in each of the 10 NASP domains.
Students also include their School Psychology Praxis Exam scores in their internship portfolios. This Praxis exam is reported in one major overall score and four sub-area scores: Area 1: Professional practices that permeate all areas of service (covers Domains 1 and 2); Area 2: Direct and indirect services for children, families, and schools (covers Domains 3, 4, 5, and 6); Area 3: Systems level services (covers Domains 7 and 8); and Area 4: Foundations of school psychological services (covers Domains 9 and 10). An overall passing score is identified as 147, indicating the student scores in the top 75% of school psychologists who take the exam for state and national certification/licensure. This is the same score that is identified for NASP's National Certification in School Psychology, the NCSP.
Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement
Several activities contribute to a culture of continual assessment of both student and program progress and effectiveness. Efforts are made to address weaknesses in individual student performance and programmatic curriculum, including learning activities and practicum/internship experiences. The BYU School Psychology Program seeks to have an ongoing self-assessment process that includes several components. Self assessment is imperative in creating and maintaining a culture of assessment and intervention that effectively and efficiently achieves student learning outcomes. Program assessment components are organized on several levels:
Student-based evaluations:
Student end-of-semester evaluations Each semester (Fall and Winter) matriculated students are evaluated by faculty regarding student knowledge, skills, and dispositions (see example of End-of-Semester Graduate Student Evaluation in program handbook). Specific remediation plans are identified to address student weaknesses. In addition to providing student feedback to individual students, the program also uses these evaluations to identify program strengths and weaknesses (patterns are noted). Program changes are discussed as needed to address the weak spots and how to better prepare students for the profession.
Exit interviews Students participate in a one-on-one faculty-student interview just prior to graduation (see online EdS SP Handbook). The faculty member conducting the interview takes notes and then summarizes these notes. Summaries of these interviews help faculty understand students' perspectives of program strengths and limitations. Interviews are discussed in faculty meeting with proposals made to strengthen the program as needed.
Student portfolios, case studies, and Praxis Exam Scores Student portfolios include work samples and data for each of the 10 NASP domains. Portfolios demonstrate evidence that students are facilitating positive change in children's lives. These data also provide evidence of program strengths and weaknesses. Praxis Exam Scores demonstrate how BYU students achieve on a nationally standardized test to demonstrate competence for licensure. Reviewing individual and cohort area Praxis scores assist faculty in understanding and responding to related classes and curriculum.
Site-based supervisor evaluations and feedback These evaluations of students' performance informs faculty about students professional, field-based competencies in each of the 10 NASP domains (learning outcomes). When consistent weaknesses are reported across cohorts, appropriate changes are made. Additionally, students provide feedback about placement sites (see EdS Program Handbook). If field-based sites do not facilitate student growth, those sites are avoided in the future or recommendations for changes are made to field-based supervisors and district supervisors. Site-based supervisors' evaluation forms are included in the Ed.S. Program Handbook.
NOTE: Ongoing tracking of student progress assists faculty in determining if coursework and field-based experiences are yielding desired outcomes in each of the 10 identified learning outcomes (10 NASP Domains).
Program level assessments:
Alumni and employer survey: Each cohort of alumni and their employers (3 years after graduation) are surveyed to determine how graduates demonstrate competency in the field, post-graduation. Aggregated data from surveys provide information about specific field-based competencies of graduates. When specific weaknesses are identified, these weaknesses are addressed through changes in course requirements and changes in required field-based experiences.
Faculty teaching evaluations: These evaluations provide faculty with student perceptions of learning. When students rate a course as less effective, instructors use this feedback to improve teaching and learning activities. Learning objectives, learning activities, and learning outcomes are carefully scrutinized and modified as needed to strengthen students' learning experiences. Students' evaluations of professor's teaching covers a wide variety of areas (teacher preparedness, satisfaction with textbook, fairness of grading, dedication to student learning, etc.).
These program-level assessments assist faculty in making needed improvements. Recommendations for change are based on cohort and group data. Minimally, these data are reviewed and discussed annually by the faculty. These data are also needed for maintaining national program approval (NASP) and university accreditation.