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School psychologist vs educational diagnostician

The differences between school psychologists and educational diagnosticians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a school psychologist and an educational diagnostician. Additionally, a school psychologist has an average salary of $78,431, which is higher than the $67,987 average annual salary of an educational diagnostician.

The top three skills for a school psychologist include professional development, mental health and psychological services. The most important skills for an educational diagnostician are dismissal, test results, and evaluation reports.

School psychologist vs educational diagnostician overview

School PsychologistEducational Diagnostician
Yearly salary$78,431$67,987
Hourly rate$37.71$32.69
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs25,4576,864
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Master's Degree, 52%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

What does a school psychologist do?

School psychologists are knowledgeable professionals whose responsibilities include identifying, addressing, and overcoming the educational and behavioral needs of school-aged children. They generally work in schools and focus their observations on children and youth who often face issues related to education, social relationships, decision-making, as well as managing emotions. They help families, counselors, and members of the community understand and solve these issues the children may encounter. Additionally, they provide comprehensive psychological services to help students achieve academic, behavioral, social, and emotional success.

What does an educational diagnostician do?

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.

School psychologist vs educational diagnostician salary

School psychologists and educational diagnosticians have different pay scales, as shown below.

School PsychologistEducational Diagnostician
Average salary$78,431$67,987
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $110,000Between $40,000 And $112,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASaint Louis, MO
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMaryland
Best paying companyCORA ServicesSoliant
Best paying industryEducationGovernment

Differences between school psychologist and educational diagnostician education

There are a few differences between a school psychologist and an educational diagnostician in terms of educational background:

School PsychologistEducational Diagnostician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Master's Degree, 52%
Most common majorPsychologySpecial Education
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

School psychologist vs educational diagnostician demographics

Here are the differences between school psychologists' and educational diagnosticians' demographics:

School PsychologistEducational Diagnostician
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 26.8% Female, 73.2%Male, 11.4% Female, 88.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between school psychologist and educational diagnostician duties and responsibilities

School psychologist example responsibilities.

  • Work alongside grade-level teachers and lead small math groups for both remedial and advance students.
  • Lead small student groups addressing social skills, friendship-making, divorce, ADHD, organizational skills and homework completion.
  • Provide brief evidence-base individual, couple, and group psychotherapy to veterans refer for mental health treatment.
  • Provide individual and family interventions to geriatric patients in nursing home facilities for long term care and rehabilitation treatment.
  • Participate on the weekly DBT consultation team.
  • Motivate kids to stay in school and improve their social skills.
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Educational diagnostician example responsibilities.

  • Charter and manage eLearning initiative including software purchase, and technology direction.
  • Prepare and create curriculums, record grades and attendance, and teach all classes k-12.
  • Organize and chair annual review and IEP meetings to assess children's progress against identify targets.
  • Present information through learning technology: PowerPoint, interactive SmartBoard, web resources, document camera.
  • Coordinate therapist appointments between students, teachers and therapists; gather data necessary for IEP evaluation meetings.
  • Travel oversight, budgets and point person for UB at outside meetings with a variety of stakeholders.
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School psychologist vs educational diagnostician skills

Common school psychologist skills
  • Professional Development, 18%
  • Mental Health, 13%
  • Psychological Services, 7%
  • K-12, 7%
  • Crisis Intervention, 4%
  • Autism, 3%
Common educational diagnostician skills
  • Dismissal, 12%
  • Test Results, 12%
  • Evaluation Reports, 9%
  • State Board, 9%
  • Evaluation Results, 9%
  • K-12, 6%

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