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

Chapter 12: Testing and Assessment
Chapter 13: Research and Evaluation

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

1


Testing and Assessment

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

2





Testing: a subset of assessment
Assessment includes:
 Informal Assessment
 Personality Testing
 Ability Testing
 The Clinical Interview
 See Figure 12.1, p. 396

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

3









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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

4








2200 BCE: Chinese developed essay type test for civil
service employees
Darwin, set the stage for modern science and the
examination of differences
Wundt, Fechner: 1st experimental labs to examine
differences in people
Binet: Hired by Ministry of Public Education in France
to develop intelligence test
Binet test, later became “Stanford Binet”—revised
by Terman

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

5




Spread of testing at beginning of 20th 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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

6




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
© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

7




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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

8






Personality Assessment (Testing in the Affective Domain; see
Figure 12.3, p. 399)
 Objective Tests
 Projective Tests
 Interest Inventories
Informal Assessment (see Figure 12.4, p. 399)
 Observation
 Rating Scales (see Box 12.2, p. 404)
 Classification Systems (see Box 12.3)
 Environmental Assessment
 Records and Personal Documents
 Performance-Based Assessment

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

9




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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

10


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 NonStandardized
 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


© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

11




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
© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

12




Some statistics help us make meaning of test scores
 Measures of Central Tendency
▪ Mean
▪ Median
▪ Mode
 Measures of Variability
▪ Range
▪ Interquartile Range
▪ Standard Deviation
▪ See Figure 12.5, page 409
▪ See Figures 12.6 and 12.7; page 410 and 411

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

13


TYPES OF DERIVED SCORES

TYPES OF DERIVED SCORES

 Percentile Rank

 Normal Curve Equivalents (NCEs)

 T-Scores

 Stanines

 Deviation IQ

 Sten Scores

 SAT/GRE Type Scores

 Grade Equivalent Scores

 ACT Scores

 Idiosyncratic Publisher-Derived

Scores

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

14




A basic statistic not directly related to interpretation of test
but crucial in test construction
 Ranges from -1.0 to +1.0
 The closer to -1.0 and +1.0 the strong the relationship
between variables
 Positive correlation: tendency for two sets of scores to be
related in same direction
 Negative correlation: tendency for two sets of scores to be
related in opposite direction
 0 = no relationship between variables

 See Figure 12.8, p. 413

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

15




Four Types
 Validity: Is the test measuring what it’s supposed to

measure?
 Reliability: Is the test accurate (consistent) in its
measurement?
 Practicality: Is this a practical test to use?
 Cross-Cultural Fairness: Has the test been shown to be fair
across different cultures?

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

16




Three types
1. Content
2. Criterion-Related

▪ Concurrent
▪ Predictive
1. Construct

▪
▪
▪
▪

Experimental
Convergent
Discriminant
Factor Analysis

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning



Face validity
 Not a “real” type of
validity. Does the test, on
the surface, seem to
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

17




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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

18




Four Types:
1. Test-Retest
2. Alternate (Parallel; Equivalent) Forms
3. Split-Half (Odd-Even)
4. Internal Consistency
▪ Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha
▪ Kuder-Richardson

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

19





Is this a realistic test to give?
Based on:
 Cost
 Time to administer
 Ease of administration
 Format of test
 Readability of test
 Ease of interpretation

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

20





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
© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

21


 Info usually included:
1. Demographic

information
2. Reason for referral
3. Family background
4. Other relevant
information (e.g., legal,
medical, vocational)

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Behavioral observations
6. Mental status
7. Test results
8. Diagnosis
9. Recommendations
10.Summary

5.

22





Usually a few pages long
Problems with:
 Overuse of jargon
 Focusing on assessment procedures & downplaying
person
 Focusing on person and downplaying assessment results
 Poor organization
 Poor writing skills
 Failure to take a position
 Demographics

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

23






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
 ACA Ethics Code

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

24




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

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

25