Related Posts

• We’re here to help you help students

  

  No matter how unparalleled 2020 has been, your students still depend on you to get the help they need. We want to reassure you that PAR is here to help you meet this challenge. Our goal is to give you the support you need to help your students. That’s why we continue to develop products to assist you in delivering that help. We have recently introduced In-Person e-Stimulus books. These tools allow for easy, safer administration of stimuli via an iPad® or tablet during in-person testing sessions. Designed to be convenient and user-friendly, these digital tools provide flexibility and confidence in testing. We recently released In-Person e-Stimulus books for the RIAS-2 and RIST-2 that are now available to order. In the future, watch for In-Person e-Stimulus books for other products, including the FAR and the FAR Screening Form. Visit our e-Stimulus page for updates. When you need assistance this school year remember, PAR is here to help you. We thank you for your devotion to helping others, and for your support.

• Helping each other help others

  

  PAR would like to thank you for all you have done—especially this year—to help those you serve. We would like to take this opportunity to honor our Customers during our annual Pay It Forward campaign. Keep your eyes on your email—in the next week, you will be receiving a list of charities with a link to select your favorite. On behalf of our Customers, we will give a $5,000 donation to whichever charity receives the most votes. “We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and it is an honor to be able to donate on their behalf to a worthy organization of their choosing,” said PAR CEO Kristin Greco. “We are so fortunate to be able to pay it forward.” This year, you will be able to choose between the American Red Cross, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the California Fire Foundation, Feeding America, and Prevent Child Abuse America. We are grateful to assist you in the important work you do and we are thankful for your business!

• PAR’s UPP is helping educators help students

  

  PAR is committed to supporting the valuable work instructors do in educating students on the most up-to-date, research-based assessment tools available. As a part of that commitment, we created the University Partnership Program (UPP). The UPP is PAR’s free concierge service for universities. The program is dedicated to assisting instructors and their students as they pursue advanced degrees. When a university joins the UPP, they receive a dedicated UPP Specialist who serves as their single point of contact. This Specialist will serve as their gateway to all the advantages the UPP has to offer. This includes features such as complimentary assessment tools, discounts for students and professors, and product-focused presentations that can be used to guide instruction. The UPP takes on tasks that can give instructors time—time that can be invested in students. Focused on providing support, the UPP features eight essential elements that we refer to as The Circle of Support. To see the full list of advantages that the UPP offers, please refer to this infographic. To learn more or to join the UPP, call our UPP Specialists at 1.866.727.2884 or send ...

• When should a test be updated or revised?

  

  This week, Sierra Iwanicki, PhD, clinical psychologist and project director at PAR, explains the background to a question PAR often receives—when and why does a test need to be updated or revised?  PAR frequently receives questions about the need to update or revise the instruments we publish. We often look for guidance from published literature and professional organizations such as the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the American Psychological Association (APA) to help guide our decisions. Although there are no absolute rules regarding when to update or revise, these professional guidelines and ethical codes provide examples of situations that would prompt the need for test revision. Here is some of the guidance we follow when determining when and if a revision is necessary:  The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing states that “revisions or amendments are necessary when new research data, significant changes in the domain, or new conditions of test use and interpretation suggest that the test is no longer optimal or fully appropriate for some of its intended uses” (pp. 83). The Standards also notes that the decision to revise or update psychological tests may be considered when there is a change in the conceptualization ...

• ED and trauma: How the EDDT can help

  

  This week’s blog was contributed by Carrie Champ Morera, PsyD, lead project and content director, and Theo Miron, PsyS, regional manager–educational assessments. Why should psychologists and other clinicians assess for emotional disturbance (ED) in the school setting? Parents and caregivers of 8.3 million school-aged children (ages 4 to 17 years) have sought help from school staff or mental health professionals about their child’s emotional or behavioral difficulties. Approximately 7.5% of children ages 6 to 17 years used prescribed medication during the past 6 months for emotional or behavioral difficulties. Assessment of ED is necessary in the school setting to help children obtain the emotional and behavioral support services they need to be successful. Over the past 20 years, the number of students served within special education has steadily increased, while the number of students being served under ED eligibilities has steadily decreased. For example, during the 2000–2001 school year, 6.29 million students received special education services with 7.6% of those students identified as having an ED. Although the population of students receiving special education services grew by almost one million ...

• Psychologists by the Numbers

  34 The percentage of psychologists who are self-employed—mainly as private practitioners.* 12 The percentage of employment growth expected between 2008 and 2018 for the overall field of psychology. Clinical, counseling, and school psychology are expected to grow about 11%, while industrial-organization psychology is expected to grow 26%.* 6,800 The projected number of additional neuropsychologists that will be needed by 2018 to keep up with demand.* 2 The number of states that currently allow appropriately-trained psychologists to prescribe medications (Louisiana and New Mexico).* 170,200 The number of jobs held by psychologists in 2008.* 0.270% The percentage of the employed population who are psychologists in New Mexico, the state with the highest concentration of psychologists. Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut all have concentrations of more than 0.1% of their respective populations.* $87,130 The annual mean wage for psychologists in New Jersey, the top paying state for psychologists.* 93,000 According to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Center for Workforce Studies, the number of practicing psychologists in the U.S. 31 The number of psychologists who are members of a union.* *Information from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.