Historical Highlights

School psychology began mainly through the testing movement, in the late 1800s, especially from people like Alfred Binet. Binet's work resembled school psychology of today, because he developed the first IQ test to screen children who would not benefit from regular education. Binet's test was brought to the United States in the early 1900s, and was standardized in 1916 by Lewis Terman of Stanford University. Today it is known has the Stanford-Binet test. In 1975, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) mandated the free and appropriate education of all individuals from 3-21 years of age. This act requires that all children should attend school, including children who often would not receive any advantages of public education in the past due to their disability. Its principles were reaffirmed and strengthened in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). Hence, in the U.S. the profession of school psychology flourished as these children needed additional support to be included in the regular school setting. This combined with years of litigation allowed the profession to flourish.