Competency Standards in Cognitive Assessment Course Assignments: A National Analysis of School Psychology Syllabi

The course on cognitive assessment is foundational to prepractitioner training in the field of school psychology. As such, the purpose of our study is to gain a better understanding of how school psychology programs measure and evaluate the Assessment Competencies in the mandatory Cognitive Assessment Course. Forty course syllabi from American Psychological Association (APA) accredited school psychology programs nationwide were examined to determine how these Competencies are being addressed. Results suggest that there is variability nationwide in the topical coverage and type, frequency, and depth of required assignments. These findings are important to help training programs understand the distinct differences in how they train psychologists based on differing number of assignments, methods of determining competency with assessments, levels of exposure to a variety of cognitive assessment tools, amount of practical experience interpreting and reporting results verbally and in writing, and topics discussed in class. Beyond this, understanding the current state of the cognitive assessment course is an initial step for designing national benchmarks for competencies in the Cognitive Assessment course. Public Significance Statement The course on cognitive assessment is foundational in school psychology programs. Results from this study demonstrate nationwide variability in how the assessment competency is measured in APA accredited programs.