An interdisciplinary struggle (who's licensed to diagnose what); Integrative assessment; RTI model; The place and status of the educational psychologist at school – Current 

?issues 

Not necessarily!

These are the issues Alfred Binet (1857-1911) dealt with, according to this interesting paper:

  

Nicolas, S., Andrieu, B., Croizet, J.C., Sanitioso, R. B. and Burman, J.T. Sick? Or slow? On the origins of intelligence as a psychological object. Intelligence, Volume 41, Issue 5, September–October 2013, Pages 699–71. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613001232

What's in this paper :

In 1882 a law on compulsory public education for children aged 6-14 was passed in France, after which teachers began to complain about the presence of "slow" children in their classrooms.

Binet joined a committee that was tasked with studying the physical and mental differences between "normal" and "abnormal" children.  Psychiatrists were also among the members of this committee.

A struggle about the license to diagnose:

The psychiatrists wanted to have the authority to determine who is an "abnormal" child and to transfer him to special education classes inside psychiatric hospitals.

 

Binet thought these children are not "sick" or "abnormal" but rather "slow/behind" in their intelligence, and he collaborated with educators to open special education classes in "normal" schools or in  special, non psychiatric, establishments created for that purpose.

In 1908 Binet and Simon made their first efforts to produce an intelligence test for children aged 3-13.

Here are some sample items:

Eye track a burning match

Repeat 8 fifteen word sentences

Answer questions: Suppose someone hurt you and apologizes – what should you do? Suppose someone asks your opinion about something you know little about – what should you do?

Define abstract concepts (what's the difference between boredom and fatigue)

General knowledge questions and questions about things learned at school.

The need for an assessment before making a decision about the child's placement:

The committee decided that children judged as being resistant to education, teaching or discipline will not be expelled without first being submitted to an examination.  If identified as "abnormal but treatable", they will be grouped in a special class attached to the school or in a special non medical establishment.

Integrative assessment:

Following the creation of the test, Binet and Simon suggested the children suspected for "abnormality" be examined  using  three different approaches:  medical, pedagogical (crystallized/ acquired knowledge) and psychological (intelligence).

An RTI approach:

In 1908, Binet recommended using his test only after first using pedagogical methods and only in cases where a three year mental retardation was observed.  Thus the test was used only after teachers had indicated a need.

Creation of the educational psychologist role:

Binet thus legitimized the role of the psychologists in schools while limiting the role of psychiatrists and their power to remove students from school.