CPSE Publications

"Impacts of Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development on Student Outcomes"
This particular case study is designed to explore the extent to which a teacher evaluation system is effective. It also addresses the challenge of measuring students achievement gains when the students in questions are already at the high end of the scale, a different yet important- problem in an era when many concentrate on "low-hanging fruit" or students "on the bubble" between failure and marginal performance. By presenting a real-world case, various research methods for studying issues raised by the case, and the interchange among scholars engaged in this effort, "Impacts of Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development on Student Outcomes" will allow educational policymakers and practitioners to decide if a proposed approach is compelling and relevant for their settings.

"Malleable Minds: Translating Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience to Gifted Education"
This book provides a synthesis of key research in the brain sciences, cognitive psychology, learning sciences and social psychology as they relate to gifted education. The first two sections resulted from the interactions between basic scientists and gifted researchers and scholars who met for two days to review the research in those realms and then to explore the interactions and connections between and among those fields. After they created the first two sections of the book, a third group of researchers in gifted and talented education were asked to create case analyses illustrating applications of the assertions made by the first two groups. Together, they are designed to provide guidance for new research initiatives in gifted education and shaping practice in the field. "Malleable Minds" now exists as a webinar with Carol Dweck and Frank Worrell, available for CE credit.

"Optimizing Student Success in School with the Other Three Rs: Reasoning, Resilience and Responsibility"
Robert J. Sternberg, Yale University, and Rena F. Subotnik, APA
A volume in the series: Research in Educational Productivity. Series Editor: Herbert J. Walberg, University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Other Three Rs model began as an APA initiative, sponsored by Robert J. Sternberg, IBM professor of psychology and education at Yale University and former president of APA. For both this initiative and this edited volume, Sternberg assembled a diverse team of experts who identified reasoning, resilience and responsibility as three learnable skills that, when taken together, have great potential for increasing academic success. The authors of this volume present in detail their evidence-based arguments for promoting TOTRs in schools as a way to optimize student success. Learn more about the Other Three Rs.

"The Scientific Basis of Educational Productivity"
Rena F. Subotnik, APA, and Herbert J. Walberg, University of Illinois at Chicago

This volume, is not primarily concerned with what students should learn, nor even how they should learn. Rather, how we can discover the best means and conditions for teaching them in school, at home and in society. More explicitly, we seek to find out how students can learn efficiently or productively as much as possible within a given amount of time and resources.

The intended audiences are not only scholars in a variety of academic disciplines but also research consumers, including educators, policymakers, parents and citizens who seek principles to critically separate valid from invalid claims for the efficacy and efficiency of education products, personnel and policies.

Psychology's Role in Mathematics and Science Education, American Psychologist (September 2009) (PDF, 114KB)
Psychology has a vital role to play in improving mathematics and science education.

Are Zero Tolerance Policies Effective in the Schools?, American Psychologist (2008) (PDF, 147KB)
The American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force offers an evidentiary review and recommendations on zero tolerance policies.

Psychology in the Schools (2008) (PDF, 92KB)
Details the work of the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Coalition for Psychology in the Schools and Education (CPSE).

Toward a Science of Educational Practice (2006) (PDF, 121KB)
In the past, educators had little coursework and background in research, and they seldom followed it closely. They often chose programs because of traditions, fads and developer claims. If science is to help improve schools, educators must be better prepared.

The Teacher Education Report Card: Title II of HEA (1998) (PDF, 639KB)
Data about teacher preparation and quality seem to be everywhere these days. But it wasn't always this way. In fact, information about teachers' level of preparedness when they completed education school programs was remarkably hard to come' by as recently as six years ago.

Applications of Psychological Science to Teaching and Learning: Gaps in the Literature
Members of the APSTL task force identified gaps in the literature in the course of preparing 10 evidence-based modules for teachers on topics related to cognitive, behavioral and affective dimensions of the teaching and learning process. This document provides a summary of those gaps and suggests potential topics for RFPs, dissertations or collaborative projects to close the gaps in our knowledge in areas classroom teachers say are important to their practice.

Assessing and Evaluating Teacher Preparation Programs
Sponsored by the APA Board of Educational Affairs and the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation, a seven-member BEA-appointed task force developed a report to help teacher education practitioners and policymakers use data to make decisions focused on teaching programs improvement and accountability.

The Board of Directors Task Force on the Impact of Elementary and Secondary School Zero Tolerance Policies (PDF, 147KB)
At the 2006 APA convention, the Zero Tolerance Task Force report was accepted by the Council of Representatives with a recommendation for adoption as APA policy. The Task Force examined and made recommendations on the development and implementation of Zero Tolerance policies in elementary and secondary schools.
Read more: APA Press Release and USA Today

Understanding and Preventing Violence Directed Against Teachers Report 
This Task Force report and associated American Psychologist article provides an overview of the current literature that examines issues surrounding teacher-directed classroom violence. The report presents the magnitude of violent incidents currently directed against K-12 teachers, highlights what is known about potential predictors of violence directed against K-12 teachers, proposes some potential strategies designed to promote safe classrooms and schools, and encourages a national research agenda for guiding future policy. As the amount of teacher centered literature in this area is currently lacking, the report also suggests topics for future research.

Identifying and Developing Talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): An Agenda for Research, Policy and Practice (PDF, 224KB)
A summary of ideas on addressing STEM (Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology) talent development among adolescents.

Report on the Teacher Needs Survey
This report analyzes responses from over two thousand teachers who were surveyed about their professional development needs in classroom management, instructional strategies, classroom diversity and parental communication.

The Scientific Basis of Educational Productivity: Proceedings and Recommendations from a National Invitational Conference (PDF, 377KB)
Rena F. Subotnik, American Psychological Association, and Herbert J. Walberg, University of Illinois at Chicago 

Task Force on Educational Disparities
Given the increasing representation of minorities in various sectors in the U.S., including education and the U.S. workforce, and because most work that pays enough to afford a sustainable lifestyle results from skills derived through higher education, it is critical that poor and racial/ethnic groups not only persist but achieve more highly in academic settings. Having a more educated racially diverse society is beneficial for all communities. An APA presidential task force staffed by CPSE examined the issue of educational disparities and:

1. Identifying what psychological science has to say about the nature and source of educational disparities.

2. Identifying interventions that have been successful in addressing these gaps on the part of schools, families, communities and the young people themselves.

3. Making recommendations to psychologists and the public regarding implications from this body of work to practice, policy and research.

Task Force Report on Psychology as a STEM Discipline (in collaboration with the Science Directorate)
The Psychology as a STEM Discipline Presidential Task Force was created to reinforce psychological science's place as a STEM discipline. The group generated a report designed to:

1. Engage the public and policy makers in considering the behavioral factors that are central to meeting the nation's grand challenges.

2. Influence federal and state policies regarding psychology's access to STEM funding.

3. Build on the third point of APA's Strategic Plan, "increase recognition of psychology as a science," within the association.