Educational Diagnostician M.Ed.

Major in Educational Diagnostician (36 SCH)

(Major Code: 5460)

Admission Requirements

A candidate must:

Complete a formal application and mandatory interview;
Meet University Graduate School admission requirements;
Have a 2.75 undergraduate grade point average;
Hold a valid teaching certificate; and
Secure an educational diagnostician mentor prior to enrolling in assessment courses.
Deadlines for Admission are: August 1 (fall); December 1 (spring); and May 1 (summer).

Leveling Courses

Graduate candidates who do not have a special education background at the undergraduate or graduate level or whose special education course work was not completed within 6 years of admission to the educational diagnostician program, or who do not have a minimum of 3 years teaching experience in Special Education, are required to take the following leveling course in addition to 36 semester hours of required educational diagnostician courses to fulfill course work requirements of the M.Ed. in Educational Diagnostician:

EPSY 6350 Exceptional Children in the Mainstream of Society

Required Education Graduate Core Courses (9 hours)

Completion of 36 semester hours: plus leveling courses if applicable

Required Diagnostician Courses (27 hours):

EPSY 6322 - Individual Mental Testing I 3
EPSY 6374 - Individual Mental Testing II 3
EDSP 6352 - Instructional Programming for Students: Low Incidence Disabilities 3
EDSP 6354 - Instructional Programming for Students: High Incidence Disabilities 3
EDSP 6356 - Consultation and Collaboration, Exceptional Children 3
EDSP 6358 - Advanced Interpretation & Assessment in Educational Diagnostics 3
EDSP 6359 - Management of Classroom Behaviors-Exceptional Learners 3
EDSP 6364 - Legal Issues in Special Education 3
EDSP 6377 - Practicum in Diagnosis of Exceptional Students 3 (Required Diagnostician courses must be completed prior to enrolling in the Practicum course. The practicum is required for Texas certification and must be completed in a school accredited or approved by the Texas Education Agency and approved by WTAMU.)

Note:

The following assessment courses must be taken at West Texas A&M University; assessment course work from other universities will not be accepted. Experience in the field of Special Education will not be considered in lieu of course work.

Competency-Based Credit

Six competency-based credit hours may be accepted from an accredited International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) program. The IMSLEC courses will be accepted for:

To confirm evidence of learning, a candidate seeking competency-based credit will:

Provide documentation that graduate level training from an IMSLEC accredited program has been successfully completed.
Score 80% or higher on a WTAMU competency-based exam which will assess the candidate’s knowledge of instructional program design and service delivery for students with low and high incidence disabilities.
All requests for competency-based credit must be approved through a Department of Education Competency Credit Faculty Review committee.

Comprehensive Examination

In addition, graduate educational diagnostician students are required to pass a comprehensive examination during or after their last semester of taking courses. Two years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher and successful completion of the educational diagnostician certification exam are also required for certification. A practicum is required for Texas certification and must be completed in a school accredited or approved by the Texas Education Agency and approved by WTAMU; the candidate is responsible for securing a practicum site and obtaining approval from the program director.

Educational Diagnostician Certification

A student will be assessed a one-time program fee of $400 plus mileage (i.e., the total miles a supervisor must travel to supervise interns) per probationary certificate and/or during the practicum (EDSP 6377 ) to offset the expense of supervision required by the Texas Administrative Code 228.35h and 241.10. Students graduate with a M.Ed. degree upon completion of all degree requirements; however, a state test is required for educational diagnostician certification.