Assessing Nontraditional Students
Who are nontraditional students? Nontraditional students might include those who are attending an at-home school program, an independent study program, or something similar. Since these students are not attending an actual school site everyday, school psychs may wonder how they can conduct a thorough psychoeducational assessment when parents and teachers are not playing the roles we typically see. Let’s take a closer look at some other challenges school psychs may face when assessing nontraditional students.
Nontraditional Student Environment
You may discover that the nontraditional students you are assessing may access the curriculum in different settings such as in the home or even in a hospital setting. Depending on the program, the district may send out a credentialed teacher to the student to assist with their learning needs or the child’s parent may be acting as the teacher. Each school district will have different program guidelines with various factors, making it challenging for school psychs to gather essential data about the student’s unique needs.
Nontraditional Student Socialization
School psychologists also may struggle with accurately assessing a student’s socialization skills. If the student is participating in a home school program, how are school psychs able to gather data regarding their social-emotional skills? What if the student is accessing the curriculum in a hospital? How will the school psychologist be able assess whether the student works cooperatively with others or displays typical behaviors under their circumstances?
Assessing nontraditional students can feel intimidating and downright stressful! Are you ready to learn how to accurately assess nontraditional students and feel self-assured in the data you collect? Do you want immediate access to 5 exclusive tips for assessing nontraditional students? If so, click the link below to access tips that you can implement into your practice today! Take the next step in becoming a more prepared school psychologist!
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