Praxis School Psych 5403 study plan
Praxis School Psych 5403 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
Map every Domain 1 sub-topic (assessment methods, psychometrics, progress monitoring, data-based decision rules) into a checklist ranked by your current confidence
Define and contrast norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, curriculum-based measurement, and informal assessment tools with one school-based example of each
Compute and interpret standard scores, scaled scores, T-scores, z-scores, percentile ranks, and confidence intervals from raw score tables
Explain reliability types (test-retest, inter-rater, internal consistency, alternate form) and validity evidence, and predict how each affects eligibility decisions
Your checkpoint
One-page psychometrics conversion table with 5 worked score conversions plus a confidence-interval interpretation paragraph, self-graded against a rubric you write
Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability
Design a Tier 1/2/3 data decision flowchart that specifies decision rules, cut scores, and review intervals
Evaluate progress-monitoring data sets to decide whether to continue, intensify, or fade an intervention, justifying each decision with effect-size or slope language
Distinguish single-case and group research designs, and identify threats to internal validity in short vignettes
Apply the problem-solving model (define, analyze, implement, evaluate) to three written referral scenarios
Your checkpoint
Completed 35-question Domain 1 self-test with a written rationale for every missed item and a score of at least 80%
Professional Practices That Facilitate Student Success Across Diverse Contexts
Identify the components of culturally responsive practice in assessment and intervention, and describe how to select and adapt tools for English learners
Analyze scenarios for bias in referral, assessment, and placement, and specify the data needed to test a disproportionality hypothesis
Compare consultation models (behavioral, mental health, instructional, conjoint) and select one for each of four vignettes
Outline the steps for nondiscriminatory assessment of a student from a linguistically diverse home, including interpreter use and native-language considerations
Your checkpoint
A 2-page culturally responsive assessment checklist you can apply to a case, with at least 10 yes/no decision items and a written rationale for each
Professional Practices That Facilitate Student Success Across Diverse Contexts
Differentiate the school psychologist's roles across general education, special education, and crisis-response contexts in diverse settings
Describe how poverty, trauma, and community factors shape academic and behavioral presentation, and match each to an appropriate support
Practice writing family- and student-centered language that avoids deficit framing in three report excerpts
Summarize the evidence base for at least three Tier 2 interventions used with diverse populations
Your checkpoint
A timed 50-question cumulative practice test covering Domains 1 and 2, scored, with an error log tagging each miss by domain and error type
Prevention and Intervention to Promote Social-Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health
Sequence the steps of a functional behavior assessment and write a behavior intervention plan with an operationally defined target behavior, replacement behavior, and progress measure
Differentiate universal, targeted, and intensive social-emotional and behavioral supports, and match each to an example student
Distinguish risk-assessment, threat-assessment, and crisis-response procedures, including the school psychologist's role and limits
Identify warning signs of mental health concerns (anxiety, depression, self-harm) and the appropriate referral and notification steps
Your checkpoint
A complete mock FBA summary and BIP for one student case, including baseline data plan and a measurable goal statement
Instruction, Curriculum, and Interventions to Promote Cognitive and Academic Skills
Compare evidence-based interventions for word reading, reading comprehension, written expression, and mathematics, and match each to a skill deficit profile
Explain how cognitive and processing skills relate to academic skill acquisition without over-relying on cognitive profiles for intervention planning
Build a Tier 2 intervention plan with a baseline, goal, measurement schedule, and decision rules
Apply principles of universal design for learning and explicit instruction to redesign one lesson activity
Your checkpoint
A one-page academic intervention plan per academic area (reading, writing, math) with baseline, goal, measure, and decision rule
Family, School, and Community Collaboration & Professional Practice, Ethics, and Legal/Regulatory Issues
Design a family engagement plan that addresses communication barriers, cultural differences, and scheduling constraints
Identify community and interagency resources and explain how to coordinate services while respecting confidentiality
Apply the major ethical principles (informed consent, confidentiality and its limits, multiple relationships, competence, advocacy) to five vignettes
Distinguish key legal requirements across IDEA, Section 504, and FERPA, including timelines, parent rights, and record-access rules
Your checkpoint
A 15-item ethics and law quick-reference card with the governing principle or statute cited for each item, self-quizzed to 90% accuracy
Data-Based Decision Making and Accountability & Professional Practices That Facilitate Student Success Across Diverse Contexts & Prevention and Intervention to Promote Social-Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health & Instruction, Curriculum, and Interventions to Promote Cognitive and Academic Skills & Family, School, and Community Collaboration & Professional Practice, Ethics, and Legal/Regulatory Issues
Re-score your earlier error logs and rank the five weakest sub-topics across all domains
Re-teach and re-test each of those five weak sub-topics until you reach 85% accuracy
Complete two full-length timed practice tests under exam conditions and compare scaled scores
Write a one-page exam-day strategy sheet covering pacing, flag-and-return rules, and how to handle unfamiliar terminology in vignettes
Your checkpoint
Two full-length timed practice tests completed with scaled score targets met or exceeded, plus a final one-page gap-closing summary of remaining weak areas
Milestones
Week 2: Domain 1 self-test at 80% or higher, with the error log showing at least one corrected rationale per missed item
Week 4: Cumulative Domains 1-2 practice test completed; at least 75% overall and no domain below 65%
Week 6: All Domain 3 and Domain 4 deliverables finished; cumulative practice test across Domains 1-4 at 75% or higher
Week 8: Two full-length timed practice tests completed in the target score range; final weak-area list reduced to three or fewer items