Evaluating school psychologists with the Danielson Framework

A school psychologist spends the day on assessment, eligibility determination, IEP team participation, consultation with teachers and families, and crisis intervention. Very little of it is classroom instruction, and very little of it maps onto a teaching rubric.

Districts that try anyway end up with evaluations that say almost nothing about how well the psychologist is actually doing the job.

What we provide

A psychologist-specific rubric on the familiar four-domain structure, in both the 2013 and 2022 editions.

• Components describe assessment practice, consultation and team collaboration rather than lesson delivery
• Evidence can be attached from meetings and consultations, not only scheduled observations
• Self assessment and goal setting use the same rubric the evaluator uses
• Everything runs on your existing evaluation calendar

The rubric derives from Danielson consulting work published by state education agencies. The 2022 edition is our own.

More than the rubric

Evidence can come from assessments, consultations and team meetings, not scheduled observations alone. The rubric is not a document you print and fill in. It is built into software that runs the whole cycle: observations scheduled and recorded, rubric language inserted into the evaluation for you, self assessments and professional development plans running against the same rubric, and district reporting at the end of the year.

Plenty of districts already have the right rubric sitting in a filing cabinet. The work is in running the cycle with it. See how the software works → Talk with us about evaluating this role →

The 2022 rubric at a glance

23 components across 4 domains, written for this role rather than borrowed from the classroom teacher rubric.

Planning and Preparation

• 1a Applying Psychological Assessment Knowledge and Skill
• 1b Knowing Child and Adolescent Development
• 1c Setting Goals for the Psychology Program
• 1d Using Resources Effectively
• 1e Planning a Coherent Psychology Program
• 1f Designing Program Evaluation

Learning Environment

• 2a Cultivating Rapport with Students
• 2b Fostering a Culture for Mental Health
• 2c Maintaining Clear Procedures for Referrals
• 2d Maintaining Standards in the Testing Environment
• 2e Organizing Spaces for Testing and Practice

Psychology Practice

• 3a Responding to Referrals and Consulting with Staff
• 3b Evaluating Student Needs
• 3c Leading the Evaluation Team
• 3d Planning Evidence-Based Interventions
• 3e Coordinating with External Providers
• 3f Responding Flexibly to Student Needs

Principled Practice

• 4a Engaging in Reflective Practice
• 4b Engaging Families and Communities
• 4c Documenting Student Records
• 4d Contributing to School Community and Culture
• 4e Growing and Developing Professionally
• 4f Acting in Service of Students

Each component carries level-of-performance descriptors in all four levels, written in first, second and third person so self-assessments and evaluations read correctly from the same source. Ask us for the full rubric and we will walk you through it. See the other 13 roles

Evaluating school psychologists this year?

Tell us how assessment and consultation work get captured today, and we will show you what the psychologist rubric records instead. If we are not the right fit for your district, we will tell you that too. Talk with us about school psychologist evaluation →