Study Guide

Field 042: School Psychologist
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

The following materials contain:

Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment

This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You are to prepare a written response of approximately 400–600 words. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response for the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to work. Think about how you will organize your response. You may use the erasable sheets to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your score will be based solely on the version of your response typed in the on-screen response box presented with the assignment.

As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the content area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factual information.

Your response to each assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Purpose: The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
  • Content Knowledge: The extent to which the response accurately and effectively applies the relevant content knowledge and skills
  • Support: The extent to which the response provides relevant, specific support
  • Rationale: The extent to which the response provides sound reasoning about the topic

The constructed-response assignment is intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the scoring criteria. Your response should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

Use the case study below about a tenth-grade student to respond to the assignment that follows.

Orin is a 15-year-old tenth-grade student. Since elementary school, Orin has consistently demonstrated advanced academic abilities, earning As in all subject areas. His teachers and parents have often praised him for his accomplishments. In addition, teachers have frequently designated Orin as a peer tutor. There have been no expressed concerns regarding this student.

Now that Orin is in high school, he participates in several extracurricular activities. He would like to become a journalist, so he is working on the school newspaper drawing cartoons for feature articles. Orin participates in seasonal team sports and in school theater productions. Outside of school, Orin volunteers with the local food pantry, collecting items for those in need.

In December, Mr. Bonner, Orin's English teacher, meets with Orin's parents to follow up on previous discussions he has had with them regarding their son's school performance. Mr. Bonner has both academic and behavioral concerns. Academically, Orin appears to put forth minimal effort in completing his assignments, he often does not hand in homework or hands it in late, and his participation in class discussions is either off topic or tangential.

Many students have complained about Orin's behavior. They have told Mr. Bonner that Orin disrupts them during independent work periods by talking, tapping his pencil, and fidgeting with items in his backpack. In response to these behaviors, Mr. Bonner has rearranged Orin's seating, reprimanded him, and given him detention. In conversations with Orin about these issues, Orin explained to Mr. Bonner that he is bored and fails to see any problem since he is getting a passing grade of C. Meanwhile, Orin's parents are worried that these issues will affect his chances of getting into the university of his choice.

Mr. Bonner and Orin's parents decide to request a comprehensive individual assessment. The multidisciplinary team asks for input from the school psychologist on the most appropriate and effective ways for them to help Orin.

Using your knowledge of intervention and assessment strategies, write a response in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

   One factor for the team to consider would be whether Orin is an academically gifted underachiever. According to the case study, Orin has consistently shown "advanced academic abilities" in elementary and middle school. Now that he is in high school, he is putting forth "minimal effort" in his English class and not handing in homework. Orin states that he is "bored," and he is content to earn a C in English class. In contrast, he is actively involved in a number of extracurricular activities. Orin may need to be provided with more challenging English assignments that allow him to tap into his interests and that are more motivating to him.
   A second factor for the team to consider is that Orin may have a previously undiagnosed learning disability that has been revealed by the increased academic demands of high school. If Orin is gifted, then he may have been able to compensate for a learning disability during elementary and middle school. Now that he is in high school, he may not have the skills that he needs to meet the demands of the curriculum standards for tenth-grade English. For example, he may have difficulty with long-term project planning and organizational skills. Several of the behaviors described in the case study (e.g., making off-topic or tangential remarks during discussions, being disruptive during independent work periods) may be tactics Orin uses to avoid doing tasks that are difficult for him.
   One assessment strategy that would be useful in this situation would be a standardized comprehensive achievement test, such as the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test–Second Edition (WIAT–II). The WIAT–II would be helpful to the team because it would provide a thorough assessment of Orin's basic skills as well as specific skills such as written expression and listening comprehension that may be problematic for him. The team can analyze the results of this assessment to determine whether Orin's achievement reflects his ability. Then the team can use the results of this and other assessments to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and/or gifted and talented services to meet Orin's identified needs.

Performance Characteristics

Responses are scored holistically based on the following performance characteristics:

Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
Content Knowledge The extent to which the response accurately and effectively applies the relevant content knowledge and skills
Support The extent to which the response provides relevant, specific support
Rationale The extent to which the response provides sound reasoning about the topic

Scoring Scale

The four points of the scoring scale correspond to varying degrees of performance.

Score Point Score Point Description
4
 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response thoroughly achieves the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate and effective application of relevant content knowledge.
  • The response provides high quality, relevant, and specific support.
  • The response reflects sound, effective reasoning about the topic.
3
 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response largely achieves the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate and generally effective application of the relevant content knowledge.
  • The response provides some relevant support.
  • The response reflects generally sound reasoning about the topic.
2
 The "2" response reflects a limited understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response partially achieves the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a limited, partially accurate and partially effective application of the relevant content knowledge.
  • The response provides limited relevant support.
  • The response reflects limited reasoning about the topic.
1
 The "1" response reflects little or no understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response achieves little of the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an inaccurate or ineffective application of the relevant content knowledge.
  • The response provides little or no relevant support.
  • The response reflects poor reasoning about the topic.
U
 The response is unrelated to the assignment, is unreadable, is primarily in a language other than English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B
 There is no response to the assignment.