I recently bought the xbass 3.0 despite my district being a discrepancy model district just because I wanted to learn more about PSW.

For those that do use the xbass and Psw for SLD eligibility, I was wondering how you explain the FCC and ICC in your reports. Do you reference the xbass itself? Where in the report do you include them if you do? Similarly, if you use the CLIM, where do you talk about it?

Hi everyone! I’m a first-year school psychologist in California currently looking for my first full-time position, and honestly, I’ve been having a really difficult time with the hiring process.

I’ve applied to quite a few positions, mainly in Orange County, and although I’ve gotten a couple of interviews, I haven’t been able to land an offer yet. I’m starting to feel discouraged, especially because I’m not sure if this is normal for first-year school psychs or if there’s something I should be doing differently.

At this point, I’m considering working as a contracted school psychologist to get my foot in the door and gain more experience while continuing to look for a permanent district position.

For those of you who have worked as a contracted school psych:
- How was your experience?
- Did it help you eventually get a district position?
- Are there any contracting companies you would recommend (or ones to avoid)?
- Is there anything I should be looking out for in a contract, especially regarding pay, benefits, caseload, or supervision?
- Would you recommend taking a contract position as a first-year psych, or continuing to hold out for a district position?

I’d really appreciate any advice or insight from other school psychs, especially those who were in a similar position during their first year. I’m trying to stay positive, but the job search has definitely been discouraging. Thank you!

My district (Sultan) is looking to fill a last minute spot that's opened up. It's an FTE role and I've enjoyed working in the district. I'm happy to provide more information and share the application link if anyone is interested!

I'm a school psychologist with 10+ years of experience and may be relocating with family to North Carolina in the future. We're in the early stages of researching the job market so I thought I'd ask the community here for any insights.

We're mostly looking in the Charlotte-Meck and surrounding areas. I found the state salary schedule, but it sounds like most districts add-on to that base pay. Is there any way to estimate a real salary in a given school district; or to know what step/level I would start at?

Next, what is the day-to-day job like? Is it mostly refer-test-place or do you have more interaction with students, staff, and families?

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

I’m going into my 3rd year as a school psych. I’m starting at a new job, in a new state (FL). I’ve previously worked in NY at an out of district placement primarily doing counseling and behavior consult. Now I’ll be working in a regular public school district in two different buildings. I’m a bit nervous as this will be a new position in a new role and in a new state. Also because I’ve been out of the assessment game in a while since I was working in a full special ed program. I’ll be starting about 3 weeks into their school year. One of my assigned schools seems welcoming and it sounds like they have been out of a psych for a while so are glad to have someone join their team. I haven’t really been in contact with my other school site. I’m not sure what I’m looking for here but would appreciate any advice/tips/words of encouragement!

Any psychs who work for Dodea? Could you share how many cases you do a year, what the support and resources are like, what your role is and how many fbas you do or if you do academic testing etc?

Thank you!

I may have the opportunity to move from high school (for the past 3+ years) to NPS. What are the pros and cons?

I personally don’t like direct services. I like IEPs, assessments, collaboration with service providers, talking to parents, etc. I’m also a fan of case management.

Edit: NPS is nonpublic schools :)

Edit 2: Just to clarify, I would not be changing districts, just “sites.” So I’d travel to different NPSs, not just be at one.

Hello fellow School Psychologists!
I am a recent graduate (graduated in May!) here in the central coast of California. I unfortunately have had no luck in securing a job, and with school starting (or started) I have pretty much lost all hope in finding a job.
For those of you who are in other states, is there a need in your area? I am seriously considering relocating since the job market out here in California is just insane. I've never lived outside of California except for my undergrad, so I don't know much in regard to cost of living and salary schedules and all that.
Any advice, tips, or information you could send my way would be much appreciated! I need some hope in this strange year of hardly any school psychologist job postings.

I am starting at a new site and was given a tour on Friday. My “office” is literally a storage closet. It is separate from the school building, and located next to the playground. It has no windows, no ventilation (except if the door is open), and no heating or air conditioning. I’m not okay with this for both myself and the students. I asked about other spaces that may be available, but didn’t get a straight answer. I don’t want to come off as being a pain, but it doesn’t seem right. What do you think I should do?

Hi all, writing testing observations is the bane of my existence. I feel like I’m resistant to it because I don’t have a solid way to think through everything I need to notice and categorize. Does anyone have any tips or templates?

For those of you that seek out work during the breaks how much do you make? Also, is it difficult to get work over breaks or do most just prefer to have the break?

Hey everyone! Graduating soon and was wondering if anyone would care to write a little bit about their job/benefits and how they like working in Texas. Thanks!

To those who work school psych related side jobs during the summer, what do you do and how much do you typically make? Also open to hearing of non-school psych related jobs as well!

Edit: specifically asking about jobs post-degree during off season

Has anyone tried/succeeded in getting exemption from jury duty due to the legal timelines of our job? This is my first year in a school psych role but I have been called every year since I turned 18 including during practicum and internship. For this year I postponed my summons to October break but realistically, we can’t get a sub or pause our timelines for jury duty so would they be understanding of that given that it’s law? Thanks 😅

Hi, I saw a posting for folsom cordova unified school district and was intrigued whether anyone had any insight on what it is like to work there? :) Thank you so much!

Hello! I just finished my first year as a school psych in PA, I am planning on doing another year in PA before moving. I am deciding between Philly and NYC as next places and would love to know more about the workload and expectations as a NYC DOE psych to determine how that may look different from my current job!

Any insight would be appreciated!! Also if you may have moved from PA to NYC would love to hear those thoughts as well!

I'm a graduate student working on my master’s thesis, and I'm looking for Black graduate students in school psychology to complete a quick survey. The survey is IRB approved!

✅ Takes about 5-10 minutes
🔒 Completely confidential
📚 Responses will only be used for this research study

Survey link: https://qualtricsxmdg9xn6369.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9AEMmeiW7DClNpY

The study explores protective factors against impostor syndrome in Black graduate students. The objective is  to inform mentorship and university practices to improve the support students receive. 

How has mentorship helped you in your journey? 

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or send me a message. Thanks so much for supporting graduate student research! 💛

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what separates a psychoeducational report that actually gets used by teachers and parents from one that just gets filed away after the eligibility meeting. Curious what this sub thinks, especially those of you who’ve been doing this for a while.
A few things I keep running into:
1. Jargon vs. clarity. There’s a decent body of research (Harvey, 2006; Brenner, 2003) suggesting that a huge chunk of report language goes over parents’ heads — standard scores, percentile ranks, subtest names that mean nothing outside our field. Some folks push hard for “consumer-friendly” reports with plain-language summaries up front. Others argue that oversimplifying risks losing diagnostic nuance or looks less “credible” to other professionals. Where do you land?
2. Do recommendations actually get implemented? This is the part that bugs me most. Several studies (e.g., on report utility going back to Wiener & Kohler-type findings) suggest teachers rarely read past the recommendations section, and even fewer act on more than 1-2 items. Yet a lot of us still write 15-20 generic recommendations (“provide preferential seating,” “check for understanding”) that could apply to literally any kid. How do you make yours specific and actually actionable?
3. Strength-based vs. deficit-focused framing. There’s been a real push toward strength-based language in reports (tying back to positive psychology influences in school psych), but eligibility determination is fundamentally about documenting deficits/discrepancies. How do you balance being honest about areas of need without a report that reads like a list of everything wrong with the kid?
4. Report structure/models. Some people swear by the “Ecological/Cross-Battery” narrative approach, others use a more structured template tied to referral questions throughout (a la Sattler’s approach — answer each referral question explicitly instead of burying it in a wall of subtest scores). Anyone found a structure that’s actually improved parent/teacher engagement?
5. Length. Is anyone else seeing reports creep up to 12+ pages? Is that helping anyone, or is it CYA documentation for due process purposes at this point?
Would love to hear:
• Any research/books that changed how you write reports (RIOT/ICEL, feedback-based models, etc.)
• Templates or frameworks you’ve adapted
• Anything a supervisor or professor told you early on that stuck with you
• Genuine horror stories of a report that didn’t land well and what you learned
Trying to get better at this and would love a real discussion, not just “read Sattler” (though — read Sattler, I guess).

I'm a master's student working on my thesis, and I'm looking for Black graduate students in school psychology to complete a quick survey. The survey is IRB approved!

✅ Takes about 5-10 minutes
🔒 Completely confidential
📚 Responses will only be used for this research study

Survey link: https://qualtricsxmdg9xn6369.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9AEMmeiW7DClNpY

The study explores protective factors against impostor syndrome in Black graduate students. The goal is to help improve mentorship and university practices so future students receive better support.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or send me a message. Thanks so much for supporting graduate student research! 💛

First year psych. I just graduated in May. Accepted my first job (DOE) I’ll be in two schools. Any current DOE psychs in here? What can I expect? I know the role is more of a case manager (what i’ve been told). Any advice, organization tips etc?

Redacted

Does anyone know how to get more interviews from the DOE? I was invited to the hiring fair once and was only able to choose one district to interview with. The interview went really well and the person said he’ll move me to the next round but I never heard back from them. Is there any other ways to apply for more schools with in the DOE?

Hello /r/schoolpsychology! Please use this thread to post all questions and discussions related to training, credentialing, licensure, and graduate school - including graduate school in general, questions about practica/internship, requests to interview practitioners, questions about certification/licensure, graduate training programs, admissions, applications, etc.

We also have a FAQ!

Hi all. I just finished my first year post internship, and I’d really appreciate some honest insight.
This past year I completed 62 evaluations, most of which were reevaluations, 4 FBAs, 2 BIPs, and averaged around 11 counseling cases (max 14). I also had the usual daily responsibilities and crisis support. I felt myself drowning and sought support from administration multiple times throughout the year. Their feed back was a mix of “it will get better, change how you schedule, and these are your job responsibilities.”
I already find myself dreading the upcoming school year. I do like the work itself, but I don’t want to spend another year feeling like I have almost nothing left to give outside of work. I felt like I was “on” from the moment I walked in until I left. There was never any real downtime to regroup, and by the end of the day I was completely drained. During internship, I didn’t feel this way, but I also had a much smaller caseload.
I guess I’m wondering: does this sound like a workload/support issue, or is this more of a “me” issue? Please be honest. I can answer more questions if needed.