Skills
School Psychologist Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in school psychologists, and how to build and show them.
What skills do school psychologists need?
School Psychologists need technical skills such as psychological assessment, special education law, and behavior analysis, plus people skills like empathy and communication. They also use tools such as Cognitive and achievement tests and Behavior rating scales.
Technical (hard) skills
- Psychological assessment
- Special education law
- Behavior analysis
- Counseling
- Report writing
- Crisis response
People (soft) skills
- Empathy
- Communication
- Objectivity
- Collaboration
Tools, equipment and technology
- Cognitive and achievement tests
- Behavior rating scales
- IEP software
- Scoring software
- Observation forms
- Progress monitoring tools
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how school psychologists put their skills to work:
- How to write a psychoeducational report parents understand
- How to complete a functional behavior assessment
- How to support students after a school crisis
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Psychological assessment” and “Special education law.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “empathy,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as State school psychologist credential near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our school psychologist glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our School Psychologist training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.