Article Citation:
Courtenay A. Barrett,
Joseph M. Cottrell,
Daniel S. Newman,
Benjamin G. Pierce, and
Alisha Anderson (
2015) Training School Psychologists to Identify Specific Learning Disabilities: A Content Analysis of Syllabi. School Psychology Review: September 2015, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 271-288.
Training School Psychologists to Identify Specific Learning Disabilities: A Content Analysis of Syllabi
Courtenay A. Barrett and
Joseph M. Cottrell
Utah State University
Daniel S. Newman
University of Cincinnati
Benjamin G. Pierce and Alisha Anderson
Utah State University
Please address correspondence regarding this article to Courtenay A. Barrett, Department of Psychology, Utah State University, 2810 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322; e-mail:
Courtenay A. Barrett is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Utah State University. Her research interests focus on psychoeducational assessment and the assessment of specific learning disabilities as well as school-based consultation.
Joseph M. Cottrell is a third-year school psychology graduate student at Utah State University. He works as a school psychologist intern in a rural Utah school district and has research interests in specific learning disability identification.
Daniel S. Newman is an assistant professor of school psychology at the University of Cincinnati. His primary research interests focus on school-based consultation supervision, and professional issues in school psychology.
Benjamin G. Pierce is a student in the combined clinical, counseling, and school psychology PhD program at Utah State University. His research focuses on issues of methodology, social justice, and prevention among adolescents and young adults.
Alisha Anderson is an undergraduate senior in the social work program at Utah State University.
Associate Editor: John Hitchcock
Approximately 2.4 million children receive special education services for specific learning disabilities (SLDs), and school psychologists are key contributors to the SLD eligibility decision-making process. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) enabled local education agencies to use response to intervention (RTI) instead of the prevailing ability–achievement (Ab-Ach) discrepancy method for SLD decision making. In this study we examined the degree to which school psychology graduate programs train different methods of SLD decision making by analyzing syllabi (n = 123) from courses in school psychology graduate programs (n = 78). Syllabi were coded by (a) Ab-Ach discrepancy training, (b) RTI training, (c) special education (e.g., law or the referral process), (d) communicating assessment results, (e) ethics, and (f) multicultural assessment considerations. Variations existed between training programs, across courses within training programs, and across regions of the country. Implications for training are discussed and address areas for future training and research.
Received: March 12, 2014; Accepted: November 28, 2014;
Copyright 2015 by the National Association of School Psychologists
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