Praxis 5282 key terms

A multi-tiered framework that screens all students, delivers increasingly intensive research-based instruction based on need, and monitors progress to decide whether a student requires special education evaluation.

Brief, standardized probes drawn from the local curriculum, such as one-minute oral reading fluency or math computation samples, used to index basic skill growth repeatedly over time and compare a student with local or national norms.

Frequent, repeated measurement of a targeted skill, typically weekly, used to judge whether an intervention is working and to adjust instruction when the trend line falls below the goal line.

A brief measure administered to all students at set intervals, usually fall, winter, and spring, to identify who is on track and who needs additional support within a tiered prevention system.

Systematic administration of brief measures to every student to detect academic, behavioral, or social-emotional risk early, before problems become entrenched or referral-driven identification occurs.

An integrated school-wide framework combining academic and behavioral supports across tiers of increasing intensity, driven by data-based decision rules and matched to student need rather than diagnosis.

A tiered, prevention-oriented approach that defines and explicitly teaches behavioral expectations, acknowledges appropriate behavior, and uses behavioral data to adjust supports school-wide.

A structured process of gathering information through interviews, observation, and records to identify the antecedents, consequences, and reinforcers that maintain a problem behavior and to guide an effective intervention plan.

A written, individualized plan built from functional assessment results that specifies replacement behaviors to teach, environmental changes, reinforcement strategies, and progress measures for a student's challenging behavior.

A descriptive observation method that records the Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence of an incident in sequence, helping identify patterns that suggest what triggers and maintains a behavior.

A commercially published measure with uniform administration, scoring, and norm-referenced scores, used to compare a student's academic skills with those of a representative same-age or same-grade sample.

A score that locates a student's performance relative to a comparison group, expressed as a percentile rank, standard score, or stanine rather than as a count of skills mastered.

A transformed score with a known mean and standard deviation, such as a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15, allowing comparison across tests with different raw score scales.

The percentage of people in the norm group who scored at or below a given raw score, indicating relative standing rather than the percentage of items answered correctly.

An index of the typical amount of error in an individual's observed score, used to build confidence intervals around a score and to judge whether two scores differ meaningfully.

A range around an observed score, computed using the standard error of measurement, that likely contains the student's true score at a stated level of probability.

The consistency of scores when the same test is administered to the same people on two occasions, reported as a correlation coefficient that should be high for a stable construct.

The degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations and uses of test scores for a specific purpose, such as eligibility decisions, rather than an inherent property of the instrument itself.

Any assessment using content drawn directly from the student's instructional curriculum to determine what has been learned and what to teach next, emphasizing instructional relevance over norm comparison.

An interactive testing approach that measures learning potential by providing structured prompts or mediation during testing and examining how much and how quickly a student improves with support.

The range of tasks a learner can complete with guidance from a more capable person but cannot yet do independently, marking the most productive target for instruction and scaffolding.

Temporary, graduated support such as modeling, prompts, or partial solutions that lets a learner succeed on a challenging task, then is faded as competence grows.

The stage roughly from ages 7 to 11 in which children gain conservation, classification, and reversibility of thought but still reason best about tangible, present situations rather than abstract hypotheses.

The understanding that quantity, mass, or number stays the same despite changes in appearance or arrangement, a milestone typically achieved during Piaget's concrete operational stage.

The ability to attribute mental states such as beliefs, desires, and intentions to oneself and others, and to recognize that others can hold beliefs that differ from reality.

A set of higher-order cognitive processes including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility that support planning, self-monitoring, and goal-directed behavior.

A limited-capacity system that briefly holds and manipulates information during thinking, underlying tasks such as mental arithmetic, following multi-step directions, and reading comprehension.

The demand that a task places on working memory; instruction that reduces extraneous load and chunks new information helps students with limited working memory learn more effectively.

Awareness of the sound structure of spoken language, including syllables, rhymes, and individual phonemes, and a strong early predictor of later reading acquisition.

Instruction in the systematic relationship between letters and the speech sounds they represent, taught explicitly and sequentially so students can decode unfamiliar printed words.

A specific learning disability of neurobiological origin that primarily affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling, despite adequate instruction and general cognitive ability.

An eligibility category for students whose academic achievement is substantially below expectations in reading, writing, or mathematics and is not primarily explained by other disabilities or lack of instruction.

A traditional identification method comparing a student's measured IQ with achievement scores to find a significant gap; it is widely criticized for delaying identification and poor early prediction.

A neurodevelopmental condition marked by developmentally inappropriate inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that impairs functioning in multiple settings, with symptoms present before age twelve.

The capacity to monitor and adjust one's own attention, emotions, and behavior in pursuit of goals, supported by executive function and shaped by modeling and environmental structure.

The processes by which a person influences which emotions arise, when, and how they are experienced and expressed, including cognitive reappraisal and situation selection.

A structured, skills-based therapy that helps students identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, adapted in schools for anxiety, depression, and anger through brief group or individual formats.

A pre-designated group with written roles and procedures that coordinates safety, communication, and psychological support during and after school emergencies such as suicide risk, violence, or death.

A structured interview and screening process that evaluates suicidal ideation, intent, plan, access to means, prior attempts, and protective factors to determine immediate safety needs and referral.

A fact-based, team process for evaluating whether a student's communication or behavior poses a risk of violence, focusing on behavior and context rather than profiling characteristics.

Brief, evidence-informed support after a traumatic event that provides safety, calming, connectedness, self-efficacy, and hope without requiring a formal diagnosis or therapy.

A collaborative, indirect service in which the school psychologist works with teachers or parents to plan and evaluate interventions for a student rather than delivering services only directly.

A consultation model in which psychologist and consultee share responsibility and expertise as equal partners, jointly defining problems, designing interventions, and reviewing outcome data.

A structured consultation model that brings parents and teachers together with the psychologist to define a shared concern, agree on strategies used at home and school, and monitor common goals.

The practice of recognizing how culture, language, and identity shape learning and behavior, and adapting assessment and intervention so they are valid and equitable for each student.

Systematic error in which a test score means something different or predicts outcomes differently for members of one group than another, threatening the fairness of eligibility decisions.

A student acquiring English who needs language support; assessment must distinguish limited English proficiency from disability and should include native-language and nonverbal measures where appropriate.

The IDEA entitlement to special education and related services designed to meet a student's unique needs, provided at public expense and consistent with the student's individualized education program.

The IDEA requirement that students with disabilities be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supports cannot make progress in general education.

A legally binding written plan for an eligible student that documents present levels, measurable annual goals, services, accommodations, and placement, developed by a required team including parents.

Legally required protections for families under IDEA, including notice, consent, access to records, independent evaluation, and dispute resolution through mediation or due process hearings.

A plan under the Rehabilitation Act providing accommodations and services to students with a disability that substantially limits a major life activity, without requiring specialized instruction or an IEP.

Collaborative relationships among educators and caregivers, built on two-way communication, shared decision making, and respect for family culture, that support student learning and well-being.

Permission given by a parent or eligible student after receiving a clear explanation of the purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives, obtained before assessment or services begin.

The ethical and legal duty to protect student records and disclosures, sharing information only with those who have legitimate educational interest or as authorized by consent or law.

A federal law giving parents and eligible students rights to inspect, amend, and control disclosure of education records, with limited exceptions such as school officials' legitimate educational interest.

A stepwise process for resolving professional dilemmas that identifies the problem, consults codes, laws, and colleagues, weighs stakeholders, chooses and implements an action, and evaluates the outcome.

A simple daily or weekly communication card on which teachers and caregivers report a target behavior or assignment, providing consistent feedback and a shared record across settings.