What does a school psychological examiner do?
A school psychological examiner specializes in assessing the students' and faculty's psychological health. Among their responsibilities include conducting interviews and evaluations, performing background checks, addressing concerns, answering inquiries, and providing psychological support to students, faculty, and school staff. They may also respond to crises, conduct interventions, maintain records, and refer clients to other services as necessary. Moreover, a school psychological examiner must coordinate with other professionals in addressing psychological issues and concerns, resolving situations to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.
School psychological examiner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school psychological examiner resumes:
- Lead dialectical-behavioral therapy groups (DBT) for individuals with borderline personality disorder diagnosis.
- Complete re-evaluations and functional behavioral assessments for children who are classify with emotional disturbance, autism, and specific learning disabilities.
- Provide therapeutic intervention to individuals dealing with PTSD, anxiety, panic disorders, depression, and personality disorders.
School psychological examiner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of School Psychological Examiners are proficient in K-12, Adaptive, and Assessment Measures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Integrity, and Observational skills.
We break down the percentage of School Psychological Examiners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- K-12, 29%
Administered psychological and educational tests to student in grades K-12.
- Adaptive, 13%
Administered, scored and interpreted intellectual, personality and adaptive behavior measures with mentally retarded, mentally ill and geriatric clients.
- Assessment Measures, 10%
Scored, analyzed, and wrote comprehensive reports based on information received from assessment measures and interviews.
- Behavior Management, 8%
Provided consultation to teachers regarding behavior management and curricular programming concerns.
- Developmental Disabilities, 7%
Conduct psychological evaluations to children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities on a fee-for-service basis.
- Psychological Assessments, 5%
Provided comprehensive psychological assessments, behavioral and academic interventions, and individual and group school-based psychotherapy for elementary students.
Most school psychological examiners use their skills in "k-12," "adaptive," and "assessment measures" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential school psychological examiner responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a school psychological examiner to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions." Additionally, a school psychological examiner resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "scored, analyzed, and wrote comprehensive reports based on information received from assessment measures and interviews. "
Integrity. Many school psychological examiner duties rely on integrity. "psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems.," so a school psychological examiner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways school psychological examiner responsibilities rely on integrity: "secured test instrument inventory to ensure integrity of test materials are not compromised. "
Observational skills. This is an important skill for school psychological examiners to perform their duties. For an example of how school psychological examiner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "psychologists study attitude and behavior." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a school psychological examiner: "administered psycho-educational assessments and wrote psychological reports.collected observational information on students.consulted with paraprofessionals, teachers, and students parents/guardians. ".
Communication skills. A big part of what school psychological examiners do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to school psychological examiner responsibilities because "psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical school psychological examiner tasks: "co-led weekly dialectical behavior therapy group maintained weekly documentation of patients' progress maintained communication with primary outpatient therapist"
Interpersonal skills. Another crucial skill for a school psychological examiner to carry out their responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." A big part of what school psychological examiners relies on this skill, since "psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals." How this skill relates to school psychological examiner duties can be seen in an example from a school psychological examiner resume snippet: "ensured effective communication and interpersonal skills when interacting with patients, families, physician, and the interdependent care team. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on school psychological examiner job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in school psychological examiner duties, since "psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day school psychological examiner responsibilities: "drafted behavioral plans, performed crisis intervention and conflict resolution intervention. "
The three companies that hire the most school psychological examiners are:
- State of Arizona1 school psychological examiners jobs
- American Medical Association1 school psychological examiners jobs
- Aos1 school psychological examiners jobs
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Compare different school psychological examiners
School psychological examiner vs. Educational diagnostician
School performance is assessed through surveys, students' conduct, and a curriculum check. This work is assigned to an educational diagnostician. After students' behavioral and cognitive development, they check for delays and report them to appropriate personnel. They regularly communicate with parents and guardians to appropriately manage the child. On the budgetary aspect, educational diagnosticians are also tasked to allocate money to the school's different processes, such as research and events. They record these students' milestones and report them to parents.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a school psychological examiner are more likely to require skills like "assessment measures," "behavior management," "developmental disabilities," and "cognitive behavioral." On the other hand, a job as an educational diagnostician requires skills like "dismissal," "test results," "state laws," and "evaluation reports." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Educational diagnosticians really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $51,946. Comparatively, school psychological examiners tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $71,896.The education levels that educational diagnosticians earn slightly differ from school psychological examiners. In particular, educational diagnosticians are 15.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a school psychological examiner. Additionally, they're 9.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School psychological examiner vs. Psychotherapist
A Psychotherapist's responsibility is to help clients who suffer from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and other behavioral problems. They work with individuals, couples, and families.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, school psychological examiner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "k-12," "adaptive," "assessment measures," and "behavior management." Meanwhile, a psychotherapist has duties that require skills in areas such as "social work," "patients," "mental health," and "diagnostic assessments." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, psychotherapists earn a lower salary than school psychological examiners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, psychotherapists earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $67,081. Whereas school psychological examiners have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $71,896.psychotherapists earn higher levels of education than school psychological examiners in general. They're 18.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for school psychological examiners in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cecy Brooks
Visiting Assistant Professor, Mississippi University for Women
School psychological examiner vs. Psychologist
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, school psychological examiners are more likely to have skills like "k-12," "adaptive," "assessment measures," and "cognitive behavioral." But a psychologist is more likely to have skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "mental illness," and "clinical supervision."
Psychologists earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $94,401. School psychological examiners earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $71,896.When it comes to education, psychologists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to school psychological examiners. In fact, they're 11.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 12.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.School psychological examiner vs. Clinical psychologist
A clinical psychologist is a healthcare professional who treats patients with various mental disorders through one-on-one or group settings. Clinical psychologists assist their patients in identifying their psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues so that a plan of action is created to help patients achieve personal and social development. To create a patient treatment plan, clinical psychologists must interview their patients who have different mental problems. They also collaborate with professionals such as social workers, nurses, and occupational therapists to provide the right treatment to their patients.
Types of school psychological examiner
Updated January 8, 2025
