Utility of psychological and psychoeducational evaluation reports: A survey of teachers and school administrators

Abstract

Psychological and psychoeducational evaluation reports are often criticized for being too long and difficult to understand. Nonetheless, these reports inform, and are often required for, high-stakes educational decisions. Very little prior research has documented whether general and special educators read the entirety of such reports. This study utilized a survey of 349 general and special education teachers and administrators to learn about their report reading habits and preferences. About one-third of participants indicated that they typically read the entire report. In cases where selected sections were read, the recommendations and summary were the most common. A majority of participants indicated a preference for shorter reports, bullet points, and visual summaries. Together the findings suggest that certain report characteristics are more useful to educators than others. Implications for reporting practices and future research are discussed.