Common core standards and individual education plans specify learning goals for students. But when a student’s performance falls short of these goals, it can be challenging — even for professionals with a range of training and disciplinary expertise — to determine the cause of the student’s struggle and to plan the necessary supports. Individualized learning solutions are necessary, because one-size-fits-all interventions don’t work.

This landmark guide presents an evidence-based approach to assessment and instruction in K–12 education that takes into account individual differences in students. The guide identifies the developmental skills to be assessed and taught in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, and it provides principles for tailoring assessment and intervention to individual students, who exhibit sizable developmental, individual, cultural, and language differences.

Importantly, it also explains how to facilitate communication and collaboration among interdisciplinary teams in education — professionals who are legally required to work together yet have such different training and disciplinary expertise that they seem to “speak different languages.”

This timely, comprehensive resource will help local schools and districts meet not only narrow legal mandates but also broader best practices for helping students learn. A special companion website provides additional resources and recommended readings.

Outside of their homes, children spend more time in schools than any other setting. From tragedies such as school shootings to more hopeful developments such as the movement toward improved mental health, health and academic achievement, there is an ongoing need for high-quality writing that speaks to ways in which children, families and communities associated with schools worldwide can be supported through the application of sound psychological research, theory and practice. As such, for the past several years APA Books® and Div. 16 (School Psychology) have partnered to produce the “Applying Psychology in the Schools” Book Series. The mission of this series is to increase the visibility of the science, practice and policy for children and adolescents in schools and communities. The result has been a strong collection of scholarly work that appeals not only to psychologists, but also to individuals from all fields who have reason to seek and use what psychology has to offer in schools. We are always looking for more authors and editors to contribute to this series. As the premier publishing house in psychology, APA Books offers unparalleled opportunity for motivated writers. Through this series, you will be paired with an appropriate series editor from Div. 16 who will work closely with you to bring your book to fruition. To learn more about this series and how to get involved, please review these instructions for submissions and contact Michelle Perfect.

• “Assessment and Intervention Manual for Schools (AIMS©): Guidelines for Psychologists and Educators Working Together and with Other Professionals and Parents to Optimize Development and Learning of Students Kindergarten to 12th Grade” by Virginia Wise Berninger (University of Washington)
• “Psychological Consultation: A Positive Psychology Perspective” by Jane Close Conoley (University of California Riverside), Collie W. Conoley (University of California Santa Barbara) and Connie Fournier (Texas A&M University)
• Behavioral Interventions in Schools: Evidence-Based Positive Strategies, Second Edition, edited by Steven Little and Angeleque Akin-Little. Estimated publication date is early 2018