Editorial Note: Emerging Trends for Expanding the Science Base (2008)

One of the unique privileges of being Editor of School Psychology Review is that I have the opportunity to observe developments in the field when they are in their early stages of taking shape. Every article published in School Psychology Review passes through a stringent peer review process and presents research that is judged to expand the science base in psychology and education. As such, I am excited to present this issue and each issue of School Psychology Review, because each of the articles makes a substantive and unique contribution to the science base. In reflecting on the articles included in this issue, two thoughts came to mind: (a) our research community is starting to address the critical need for a science base to promote the academic competence of students at substantial risk of failure--that is, those who are minorities by virtue of cultural and linguistic background and socioeconomic circumstance; and (b) our research community is beginning to move beyond the period of speculation about how to integrate a positive psychology approach into research and practice. Three of the articles in this issue focus on promoting the academic competence of underserved students, so they have been organized into a special topic. Each of these articles addresses the first outcome goal of the Futures Conference in School Psychology--that is, promoting the academic competence of all students (see Dawson et al., 2004; Power, 2006). Although there has been a substantial volume of research investigating early predictors of academic performance, most of this work has been conducted with monolingual English speakers. The article by Vanderwood, Linklater, and Healy (2008) addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the predictability of early indicators of English phonics, assessed by a nonsense word fluency task, among English language learners. This study is interesting from a methodological standpoint in that it demonstrates the importance of examining both validity and educational utility when evaluating the suitability of measures for screening and assessment. Oral reading fluency has been demonstrated repeatedly to be useful in the early identification of students at risk of reading failure. The article by Baker et al. (2008) expands the research base by demonstrating the predictability of oral reading fluency among students attending schools serving a disproportionately high rate of students from low-income families. Further, this article is noteworthy in that it addresses the challenge of accounting for baseline differences in reading performance (y intercept) when using slope to predict later outcomes. English language learners face numerous obstacles in becoming competent students. Most of the focus among researchers and practitioners has been on developing instructional strategies to address the unique needs of these individuals. The research presented by Edl, Jones, and Estell (2008) suggests that English language learners also may have to overcome stereotypes with regard to their abilities. This article suggests that Latino students placed in bilingual classrooms may be viewed by teachers as less competent academically and socially than their Latino and European American peers who are in general education classes. This study further suggests that teacher education may be needed to address potential biases that may act as self-fulfilling prophesies for these students. …