Psychological Testing and Assessment Lessons 1-6 PDF

Psychological Testing and Assessment Defined Psychological testing – is the process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior. Psychological assessment – is the gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the pu...

Psychological Testing and Assessment Defined Psychological testing – is the process of measuring psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior. Psychological assessment – is the gathering and integration of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation that is accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures.  Testing Assessment Objective To obtain some gauge, usually To answer a referral question, numerical in nature, with regard solve a problem, or arrive at a to an ability or attribute. decision through the use of tools of evaluation.  Testing Assessment Process Testing may be conducted Assessment is individualized. In individually or in groups. After contrast to testing, assessment test administration, the tester focuses on how an individual adds up “the number of correct processes rather than simply the answers or the number of certain results of that processing. types of responses... with little if any regard for the how or mechanics of such content” (Maloney & Ward, 1976, p. 39).  Testing Assessment Role of Evaluator The tester is not key to the The assessor is key to the process process; one tester may be of selecting tests and/or other substituted for another tester tools of evaluation as well as in without appreciably affecting the drawing conclusions from the evaluation. entire evaluation.  Testing Assessment Skill of Evaluator Testing requires technician-like Assessment requires an educated skills in administering and scoring selection of tools of evaluation, a test as well as in interpreting a skill in evaluation, and thoughtful test result. organization and integration of data. Outcome Testing yields a test score or Assessment entails a logical series of test scores. problem-solving approach that brings to bear many sources of data designed to shed light on a referral question. Brief Usage of Testing and Assessment During World War I, the term “testing” aptly described the group screening of thousands of military recruits. However, by World War II a semantic distinction between testing and a more inclusive term, “assessment,” began to emerge. Varieties of Assessment Educational assessment - the use of tests and other tools to evaluate abilities and skills relevant to success or failure in a school or pre-school context. Intelligence tests, achievement tests, and reading comprehension tests are some of the evaluative tools that may spring to mind with the mention of the term “educational assessment. Retrospective assessment - is defined as the use of evaluative tools to draw conclusions about psychological aspects of a person as they existed at some point in time prior to the assessment. Remote assessment - refers to the use of tools of psychological evaluation to gather data and draw conclusions about a subject who is not in physical proximity to the person or people conducting the evaluation. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) - refers to the “in the moment” evaluation of specific problems and related cognitive and behavioral variables at the exact time and place that they occur. Collaborative psychological assessment - the assessor and assessee may work as “partners” from initial contact through final feedback; a collaborative approach to assessment can be asl0 therapeutic psychological assessment. Dynamic assessment - refers to an interactive approach to psychological assessment that usually follows a model of (1) evaluation, (2) intervention of some sort, and (3) evaluation. Dynamic assessment is most typically employed in educational settings, although it may be employed in correctional, corporate, neuropsychological, clinical, and most any other setting as well.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 1. Test It is defined simply as a measuring device or procedure. Psychological test - refers to a device or procedure designed to measure variables related to psychology (such as intelligence, personality, aptitude, interests, attitudes, or values). Format It pertains to the form, plan, structure, arrangement, and layout of test items as well as to related considerations such as time limits: computerized, pencil-and- paper, or some other form. Administration It involves demonstration of various kinds of tasks demanded of the assessee, as well as trained observation of an assessee’s performance: one-to-one, group, etc. Scoring and Interpretation Score - a code or summary statement, usually but not necessarily numerical in nature, that reflects an evaluation of performance on a test, task, interview, or some other sample of behavior. Scoring - is the process of assigning such evaluative codes or statements to performance on tests, tasks, interviews, or other behavior samples. Cut score (aka cutoff score or cutoff) - is a reference point, usually numerical, derived by judgment and used to divide a set of data into two or more classifications. Psychometric Soundness It refers to the technical quality. Synonymous with the antiquated term psychometry, psychometrics is defined as the science of psychological measurement. Variants of these words include the adjective psychometric (which refers to measurement that is psychological in nature) and the nouns psychometrist and psychometrician (both terms referring to a professional who uses, analyzes, and interprets psychological test data).  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 2. Interview It is a method of gathering information through direct communication involving reciprocal exchange; helps make diagnostic, treatment, selection, or other decisions. Panel interview (aka board interview) - more than one interviewer participates in the assessment. Motivational interviewing - a therapeutic dialogue that combines person-centered listening skills such as openness and empathy, with the use of cognition-altering techniques designed to positively affect motivation and effect therapeutic change.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 3. Portfolio These are samples of one’s ability and accomplishment, a portfolio may be used as a tool of evaluation: sample drawings, lesson plans, publishes writings, etc.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 4. Case History Data It refers to records, transcripts, and other accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve archival information, official and informal accounts, and other data and items relevant to an assessee. It may include files or excerpts from files maintained at institutions and agencies such as schools, hospitals, employers, religious institutions, and criminal justice agencies.  Case study (or case history) sheds light on how one individual’s personality and a particular set of environmental conditions combined to produce a successful world leader. In a clinical evaluation, it can shed light on an individual’s past and current adjustment as well as on the events and circumstances that may have contributed to any changes in adjustment.  In neuropsychological evaluations, where it often provides information about neuropsychological functioning prior to the occurrence of a trauma or other event that results in a deficit. School psychologists rely on case history data for insight into a student’s current academic or behavioral standing. Case history data is also useful in making judgments concerning future class placements. Groupthink - arises as a result of the varied forces that drive decision-makers to reach a consensus (such as the motivation to reach a compromise in positions).  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 5. Behavioral Observation It is defined as monitoring the actions of others or oneself by visual or electronic means while recording quantitative and/or qualitative information regarding those actions. Naturalistic observation - observing behavior of humans in a natural setting—that is, the setting in which the behavior would typically be expected to occur.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 6. Role Play It is defined as acting an improvised or partially improvised part in a simulated situation. Role-play test - is a tool of assessment wherein assessees are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 7. Computers as Tools As test administrators, computers do much more than replace the “equipment” that was so widely used in the past. Computers can serve as test administrators (online or off) and as highly efficient test scorers. Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) Adaptive is a reference to the computer’s ability to tailor the test to the testtaker’s ability or test-taking pattern. Ex.: On a computerized test of academic abilities, the computer might be programmed to switch from testing math skills to English skills after three consecutive failures on math items. Score feedback in the context of CAT may, depending on factors such as intrinsic motivation and external incentives, positively affect testtaker engagement as well as performance. Computer-Assisted Psychological Assessment (CAPA) Assisted here refers to the assistance computers provide to the test user, not the testtaker. Ex.: One specific brand of CAPA, is Q-Interactive. Available from Pearson Assessments, this technology allows test users to administer tests by means of two iPads connected by bluetooth (one for the test administrator and one for the testtaker). Test administrators may record testtakers’ verbal responses and may make written notes using a stylus with the iPad. Scoring is immediate.  CAPA: Pros CAPA: Cons It saves professional time in test Professionals must still spend administration, scoring, and significant time reading software interpretation. and hardware documentation and even ancillary books on the test and its interpretation. It results in minimal scoring With CAPA, the possibility of errors resulting from human software or hardware error is error or lapses of attention or ever present, from difficult-to- judgment. pinpoint sources such as software glitches or hardware malfunction.  CAPA: Pros CAPA: Cons It ensures standardized test It leaves those testtakers who are administration to all testtakers unable to employ familiar test- with little, if any, variation in test taking strategies (previewing test, administration procedures. skipping questions, going back to previous question, etc.) at a disadvantage. It yields standardized The standardized interpretation interpretation of findings due to of findings based on a set, unitary elimination of unreliability perspective may not be optimal; traceable to differing points of interpretation could profit from view in professional judgment. alternative viewpoints.  CAPA: Pros CAPA: Cons Computers’ capacity to combine Computers lack the flexibility of data according to rules is more humans to recognize the accurate than that of humans. exception to a rule in the context of the “big picture.” Nonprofessional assistants can be Use of nonprofessionals leaves used in the test administration diminished, if any, opportunity process, and the test can typically for the professional to observe be administered to groups of the assessee’s test-taking testtakers in one sitting. behavior and note any unusual extra-test conditions that may have affected responses.  CAPA: Pros CAPA: Cons Professional groups such as APA Profit-driven nonprofessionals develop guidelines and standards may also create and distribute for use of CAPA products. tests with little regard for professional guidelines and standards. Paper-and-pencil tests may be The use of paper-and-pencil tests converted to CAPA products with that have been converted for consequential advantages, such computer administration raises as a shorter time between the questions about the equivalence administration of the test and its of the original test and its scoring and interpretation. converted form.  CAPA: Pros CAPA: Cons Security of CAPA products can be Security of CAPA products can be maintained not only by breached by computer hackers, traditional means (such as locked and integrity of data can be filing cabinets) but by high-tech altered or destroyed by untoward electronic products (such as events such as introduction of firewalls). computer viruses. Computers can automatically Not all testtakers take the same tailor test content and length test or have the same test-taking based on responses of testtakers. experience.  The Tools of Psychological Assessment 8. Other Tools Stream video, DVD, VR technology, Video recordings, Biofeedback, etc. Who Are the Parties? Parties in the assessment enterprise include developers and publishers of tests, users of tests, and people who are evaluated by means of tests. Test developers - create tests or other methods of assessment together with publishers. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing – “the Standards” covers issues related to test construction and evaluation, test administration and use, and special applications of tests, such as special considerations when testing linguistic minorities. Initially published in 1954, revisions of the Standards were published in 1966, 1974, 1985, 1999, and 2014. The Standards is an indispensable reference work not only for test developers but for test users as well. The test user - psychological tests and assessment methodologies are used by a wide range of professionals, including clinicians, counselors, school psychologists, human resources personnel, consumer psychologists, industrial- organizational psychologists, experimental psychologists, and social psychologists. The testtaker - anyone who is the subject of an assessment or an evaluation can be a testtaker or an assessee. Society at large - As society evolves and as the need to measure different psychological variables emerges, test developers respond by devising new tests. Other parties - Organizations, companies, and governmental agencies sponsor the development of tests for various reasons, such as to certify personnel; offer test-scoring or interpretation services; simply extensions of test publishers,; academicians who review tests and evaluate their psychometric soundness. In What Types of Settings Are Assessments Conducted, and Why? 1. Educational Settings Achievement test - evaluates accomplishment or the degree of learning that has taken place. Diagnostic test - refers to a tool of assessment used to help narrow down and identify areas of deficit to be targeted for intervention.  Informal evaluation - a typically non-systematic assessment that leads to the formation of an opinion or attitude. 2. Clinical Settings These tools are used to help screen for or diagnose behavior problems; public, private, and military hospitals, inpatient and outpatient clinics, private-practice consulting rooms, schools, and other institutions. 3. Counseling Settings The ultimate objective of many such assessments is the improvement of the assessee in terms of adjustment, productivity, or some related variable. Measures of social and academic skills and measures of personality, interest, attitudes, and values are among the many types of tests that a counselor might administer to a client. 4. Geriatric Settings Measures of their of quality of life. 5. Business and Military Settings Decision making about the careers of personnel; achievement, aptitude, interest, motivational, decisions regarding promotions, transfer, job satisfaction, eligibility for further training, promotion, etc. 6. Governmental and Organizational Credentialing Governmental licensing, certification, or general credentialing of professionals: medicine, law, psychologists, etc. 7. Academic Research Settings 8. Other settings Used in courts, health psychology, etc. How Are Assessments Conducted? Protocol – it refers to the form, sheet, or booklet on which a testtaker’s responses are entered; also be used to refer to a description of a set of test-or assessment-related procedures. Rapport - a working relationship between the examiner and the examinee. Assessment of People w/ Disabilities Accommodation – an adaptation of a test, procedure, or situation, or the substitution of one test for another, to make the assessment more suitable for an assessee with exceptional needs. Alternate assessment - is an evaluative or diagnostic procedure or process that varies from the usual, customary, or standardized way a measurement is derived, either by virtue of some special accommodation made to the assessee or by means of alternative methods designed to measure the same variable(s). Where to Go for Authoritative Information: Reference Sources Test catalogues - most readily accessible sources of information distributed by the publisher of the test w/ a brief description of the test and seldom contain the kind of detailed technical information. Test manuals - detailed information concerning the development of a particular test and technical information, which usually can be purchased from the test publisher. However, for security purposes the test publisher will typically require documentation of professional training before filling an order for a test manual.  Professional books Reference volumes - Mental Measurements Yearbook; updated periodically, provides detailed information for each test listed, including test publisher, test author, test purpose, intended test population, and test administration time. Journal articles Online databases