IMPROVING GENERAL-EDUCATION INSTRUCTION - RELEVANCE TO SCHOOL-PSYCHOLOGISTS

Many school psychologists spend the majority of their time testing stu dents with academic difficulties for special education eligibility. Th ese assessment efforts are directed toward finding within-child disabi lities presumed to cause learning problems. Tests are administered to the student to find the disability and if found, special education ser vices are delivered to presumably solve the problem. Current school ps ychology services typically ignore the role of general education curri culum and instruction practices and their potential contribution to st udents' academic difficulties as well as the role that effective instr uctional practices can serve to reduce student learning difficulties. This article proposes that school psychologists direct more efforts at ensuring the implementation of effective instructional practices in g eneral education and identifies roles that school psychologists can pl ay in improving general education instructional practices.