The world of the Counselor An introduction to the counseling profession 5e chapter 12

You will be administering and interpreting assessment instruments You may consult with others on their proper use  You may use them in program evaluation and research  You will read a

Chapter 12: Testing and Assessment

Chapter 13: Research and Evaluation

Testing and Assessment

 Testing: a subset of assessment

You will be administering and interpreting assessment instruments

 You may consult with others on their proper use

 You may use them in program evaluation and research

 You will read about them in the professional literature

 School counselors: Sometimes the only expert on assessment

in the schools

 Other counselors: Will likely be using them in your setting and consulting with others who use them

 Why testing? Why not testing? Testing is an additional

method of gaining information about your client

 2200 BCE: Chinese developed essay type test for civil service employees

examination of differences

differences in people

to develop intelligence test

by Terman

Spread of testing at beginning of 20 century:

 Psychoanalysis spurred on development of objective and projective personality tests

 Industrial Revolution and need for vocational assessment

 WWI: Ability and personality tests used to determine placements of recruits

 1940s and 1950s: advances in statistics led to better test construction

 1980s and on: Personal computers make tests easier to develop, analyze, use, administer, and interpret

 Ability Testing (Testing in the Cognitive Domain) (see Figure 12.2, p 399)

 Two types

▪ Achievement Testing (What one has learned)

▪ Aptitude Testing (What one is capable of learning)

 Achievement Testing

▪ Survey Battery Tests

▪ Diagnostic Tests (see Box 12.1, p 400: PL 94-142)

▪ Readiness Tests

Ability Testing (Testing in the Cognitive Domain) (see Figure 12.2, p 399) (Cont’d)

 Aptitude Tests (What one is capable of learning)

▪ Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning Testing

▪ Intelligence Tests

▪ Neuropsychological Assessment

▪ Cognitive Ability Tests

▪ Special Aptitude Tests

▪ Multiple Aptitude Tests

 Personality Assessment (Testing in the Affective Domain; see

 Rating Scales (see Box 12.2, p 404)

 Classification Systems (see Box 12.3)

 Environmental Assessment

 Records and Personal Documents

 Performance-Based Assessment

The Clinical Interview

 Sets a tone for the types of information that will be covered during the assessment process

 Allows client to become desensitized to information that can

be very intimate and personal

 Allows examiner to assess nonverbals of client while he or she is talking about sensitive information

 Allows examiner to learn problem areas firsthand

 Gives client and examiner opportunity to study other’s personality style to assure they can work together

 Norm-referenced Tests

 Your results are compared to your peer group

 Criterion-referenced Tests:

 Preset learning goals are established

 Examinee has increased time to meet educational goals

 Often used for individuals with learning disabilities

 Norm-Referenced and Criterion Tests Can Be Standardized or Standardized

Non- Standardized: Given exactly the same way each time

 Non-Standardized: Vary in how administered Generally not as rigidly researched as standardized tests (e.g., teacher made tests)

 See Table 12.1, p 407

Relativity and Meaningfulness of Scores

 Raw scores don’t hold much meaning unless you do something to them

 By comparing raw scores to those of an individual’s peer group, you are able to:

▪ See how the individual did in comparison to similar people

▪ Allow test takers who took the same test, but are in different norm groups to compare their results

▪ Allow an individual to compare his or her results on two different tests

 Some statistics help us make meaning of test scores

 Measures of Central Tendency

▪ See Figure 12.5, page 409

▪ See Figures 12.6 and 12.7; page 410 and 411

TYPES OF DERIVED SCORES

TYPES OF DERIVED SCORES

 Normal Curve Equivalents (NCEs)

 Stanines

 Sten Scores

 Grade Equivalent Scores

 Idiosyncratic Publisher-Derived Scores

 A basic statistic not directly related to interpretation of test

but crucial in test construction

 Practicality: Is this a practical test to use?

 Cross-Cultural Fairness: Has the test been shown to be fair across different cultures?

measure what it’s supposed to measure

 Some tests may be valid, but may not seem to be measuring what it’s

supposed to measure

Is bias removed—as best as possible?

 Does it predict well for all cultural groups?

 Griggs v Duke Power Company: Tests must show that they can predict for job performance

 A number of ethical and legal issues have been addressed (see later under “Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues”)

 See Table 12.2, p.417: Summary of Types of Validity and Reliability

Is this a realistic test to give?

 Over 4000 assessment procedures

 How do you find them:

 Publisher resource catalogs

 Journals

 Source Books and On-Line Source “Book” Information

▪ Buros Mental Measurement Yearbook

▪ Tests in Print

 Books on Testing and Assessment

 Experts

 The Internet

Info usually included:

1.Demographic information

2.Reason for referral

3.Family background

4.Other relevant information (e.g., legal, medical, vocational)

 Usually a few pages long

 Poor writing skills

 Failure to take a position

 Demographics

Caution in Using Assessment Procedures

 Cultural bias continues to exist in testing

 Standards and ethical codes have been developed to help us:

▪ Understand the cultural bias inherent in tests

▪ Know when a test should not be used due to bias

▪ Know what to do with test results when a test does not predict well for minorities

 Standards for effective use of assessment instruments

 Association for Assessment in Counseling’s Standards for

Multicultural Assessment

 Code of Fair Testing in Education

 Take A Stand—Do Something!

 Our duty and moral responsibility to do something when

▪ Tests have been administered improperly

▪ Tests are culturally biased and the bias is not addressed

▪ Cheating has taken place

▪ Tests were used with limited validity or reliability

 Guidelines for use of assessment instruments(see bottom p 420)

 Informed consent

 Invasion of privacy and confidentiality

 Competence in the use of Tests

▪ Levels A, B, and C

 Technology and Assessment

▪ Sometimes, counselor not used with computer-generated reports

▪ Issues of confidentiality and privacy

▪ Knowing laws relative to the impact of on-line technology

▪ Adequate training in technology

ETHICAL ISSUES

 Ethics (Other Issues)

 Proper release of test results

 Selecting Tests

 Administering, Scoring and Interpreting Tests

 Keeping Tests Secure

 Picking up-to-date tests

 Proper Test Construction

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

 Professional Issues

Computer-Driven Assessment Reports

▪ Can be very good

▪ Make sure they reflect “you”

Professional Association

▪ Assoc for Assessment in Counseling and Education (AACE)

▪Adivision of ACA

 Civil Rights Act (‘64) & Amendments: Tests must be shown

to be valid for the job

 Legal Issues (Cont’d)

 Freedom of Information Act: Right to access federal records, including test records

 PL94-142 and IDEIA: Right of students to be tested, at school’s expense, for a suspected disability that interferes with learning

 Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act: Instruments must measure person’s ability, not be a reflection of his or her disability

 HIPAA: Right of privacy of records, including test records

Assessment of clients is not just giving a test

 Use multiple methods and be wise

 Remember, people can and will change over time

 Don’t view them as “stagnant” and always the same