A Code-A-Text analysis of educational psychologists’ reports submitted to statutory assessments procedures

Abstract

There is a wealth of discussion (e.g. Gilham, 1978; Frederickson, Webster & Wright, 1991; Lokke, Gersch, M’gadzah & Frederickson, 1997) on the nature of psychological assessments within the educational psychology profession. However, little attention has been directed on how these are actually used for the allocation of special needs provision. Such research could inform the development of assessment methods by investigating which information or data is most helpful in decision-making. This study complements earlier research by the author, which has investigated the effect of standardised test scores on decision-making and the constructs of the decision-makers themselves (Buck, 1998, 1999; Buck & Youngman, 1996).This study investigates the relationship between the text content within educational psychologists’ (EPs) reports and the actual provision specified on the Statements of Special Educational Needs (SENs) issued by local education authorities (LEAs) during statutory assessment procedures in the UK. The EP reports were analysed using the text analysis software ‘Code-A-Text’.The results show how certain assessment information within the reports associates more closely with some categorisations of SEN than others. Doubts are raised over the consistency of evidence used in order to classify a large group of children as presenting ‘moderate learning difficulties’ and hence the validity of this category.It is hoped this research will contribute to the long debate on the nature of educational psychologists’ assessments and their report writing by investigating their practical effects on decision-making. The companion article in this volume reports a similar investigation of the other reports submitted in statutory assessment procedures.