AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING & ASSESSMENT

DEFINITIONS

• Test– Is a set of measuring device/tools designed to

measure a variable related to that modifier• Testing– Refers to everything, from test administration to

the interpretation of the test score• Assessment– is a process of active integration of test scores,

behavioral observation, and other data.

• Psychological Tests– Refers to a device/procedure designed to measure a specific psychological

construct:– Traits: i.e., introversion and extroversion– Certain Conditions: i.e., depression and anxiety– Intelligence, aptitude, and achievement: i.e., verbal intelligence and reading achievement– Attitudes and feelings: i.e., how individuals feel about the treatment they received from their

therapists– Interest: i.e., careers and activities that a person is interested in– Specific abilities, knowledge, or skills: i.e., cognitive ability, memory, and problem solving skills

• Psychological Testing– Refers to the administration or process of measuring psychology related

variables using a device or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior

• Psychological Assessment– Refers to 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 apparatus and measurement procedure

• Psychological tests provide a way to formally and accurately measure different factors that can contribute to people’s problems. Not anyone can administer a psychological test. Each test has its own requirements or qualification that a person must meet in order for a person to purchase and administer the test to someone else.

• Psychological assessment is a process that involves the integration of information from multiple sources, such as psychological tests, personal history, description of current symptoms and problems by either self or others, and collateral information

CONTRASTING TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

• OBJECTIVE:

– Testing is usually numeric in nature with regard to an ability or attribute while Assessment answers a question, solve a problem, or arrive at a decision through the use of tools of evaluation

• PROCESS:

– Testing may be individual or group in nature, after administration it will typically add up the number of correct answers while Assessment is typically individualized and focuses on how the individual processes rather than simply looking at the results

• ROLE OF EVALUATOR:

– The Tester is not the key process, with any replacement in a session will have it won’t affect the evaluation while the Assessor is the key process from selection of test until the drawing of conclusions and interpretation

• SKILL OF EVALUATOR:– The Tester needs some technician like skills in terms

of administering the test and interpreting the results while an Assessor requires someone who is educated in the tools and skills of evaluation and the organization and integration of data

• OUTCOME:– Testing yields scores/set of test scores while

Assessment entails a logical problem solving approach designed by a referral question

PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT

• Referral for assessment• Clinical interview• Informal assessment• Formal assessment• Summary of assessment

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT

• Collaborative– The assessor and the assessee may work as partners from

initial contact to final feedback• Therapeutic– Therapeutic self discovery and new understandings are

encouraged throughout the assessment process.• Dynamic– An interactive approach that follows the model of

evaluation, intervention, and evaluation

TOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

1.) Test– Is simply defined as a measuring device or procedure– Psychological Test Variables differs in:

• Content- vary with the focus of the particular test• Format- pertains to form, plan, structure, arrangement and its

administration• Administration procedure- it can be either one-to-one or group• Scoring and interpretation:

– Score- a code/summary statement that reflects an evaluation of performance on a test, task, interview, or other samples of behavior

– Scoring- is the process of assigning score

• Technical Quality: psychometric soundness of a test

2.) Interview– Conjures image of face to face talk– It differs with regard to many variables, such as purpose, length, and

nature– Helps to make diagnosis, treatment, selection, or other decisions3.) Case History Data– Refers to records, transcripts, and other accounts written, pictorial,

or other form that preserve archival information, official, and informal accounts, and other data and items relevant to an assessee

4.) Behavioral Observation– Monitoring of actions of others or oneself by visual or electronic

means while recording qualitative or quantitative information regarding the action• Naturalistic• Field

5.) Portfolio-Work products whether retained on paper, canvas, film, video, audio, or

some other mediums.6.) Role-Play Tests

-is a tool of assessment wherein assessees are directed to act as if they were in a particular situation7.) Computers

scoring may be done on-site (local processing)or conducted at some central location (central processing)central facility by means of phone line (teleprocessing)the account of performance spewed out can range from a mere listing of

scores (simple scoring report)Extended scoring- includes statistical analyses of the testtaker’s performanceInterpretative Report- is distinguished by its inclusion of numerical or

narrative interpretive statements in the reportConsultative reports- high ends of interpretative reportIntegrative report- previously collected data into the test reportCAPA- Computer Assigned Psychological AssessmentCAT- Computer Adaptive Testing

WHO ARE THE PARTIES INVOLVED?

• Test Developer– creates test or other methods of assessment – The APA has estimated that more than 20,000 new

psychological tests are developed each year.• Test User– Wide range of professionals, including clinicians,

counselors, school psychologists, HR personnel, consumer psychologists, experimental psychologists, social psychologists, etc.

– Only chosen people are qualified

• Testtaker– Anyone who is the subject of the assessment– Variables that may affect the testtaker:

• Amount of test anxiety• The extent to which they agree with the rationale for the

assessment• Capacity and willingness to cooperate• Physical pain or emotional distress • The extent to which they have prior coaching• Portraying themselves in a good or bad light

• Society at Large– has a big impact on organizing and systematizing with

regards to uniqueness of each individual

SETTINGS IN WHICH ASSESSMENT IS CONDUCTED

• Educational: to help identify children who may have special needs (i.e school ability, achievement test)

• Clinical: used to help screen for or diagnose behavior problems• Counseling: improvement of the assessee in terms of

adjustment, productivity, or some related variable. • Geriatric: to determine whether the elders are enjoying as

good as a quality of life• Business & Military: decision making about the careers of

personnel and also for promotion, demotion, and firing• Governmental & Organizational: licensure, certification,

credentialing of professionals

HOW IS ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED?

• BEFORE ASSSSMENT:– Test must be stored in ways that reasonably ensures that

its content will not be exposed to testtakers – Ensured that a “suitably-trained” person administers the

test properly– Examiners must be familiar with the test materials and

procedures– All materials to properly administer the test must be

present in the site (e.g., stopwatch, supply of pencils, & sufficient number of test protocols)

– Ensures the venue is suitable and conducive for testing

• DURING ASSESSMENT:• Free from any distracters (such as excessive noise, heat, cold,

interruptions, glaring sunlight, crowding, inadequate ventilation, etc), rapport (working relationship) must be present between the examiner and the examinee

• AFTER ASSESSMENT:– Safeguarding of the test protocols– Scoring must be standard– Interpretation of results must be used according to

the established procedures and ethical guidelines– Test results must be conveyed in a clear-

understandable way

ASSESSMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

• Assessment of people with disabilities uses alternate assessment – done by means of some accommodation (adapt, adjust, or make suitable)

• Accommodation - is the adaptation of the 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/diagnostic procedure or process that varies from the usual way of measurement by virtue of some special accommodation made to the assessee or by means of alternative methods designed to measure the same variable

WHERE TO FIND AUTHORITATIVE INFORMATION?

• Test Catalogue: contains brief description of the test and seldom contain the kind of detailed technical information that a prospective user might require

• Test Manuals: development of particular test and technical information relating to it

• Reference Volumes: provides detailed information for each test listed including the publisher, author, purpose, intended population, and administration time

• Journal articles: contains review of test, updated or independent studies of its psychometric soundness, or examples on how the test was applied to research or an applied context

• Online Database

HISTORY OF TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

• It is believed that test and testing programs first came in China as early as 2200 B.C.E

• During the Greco-Roman period there were attempts to categorize people in terms of personality.

• Modern sense of testing began during the Renaissance.• Christian Von Wolff had anticipated psychology as a science and

psychological assessment as a specialty within that science.• In 1859, Charles Darwin wrote his book entitled “On the Origin of Species by

Means of Natural Selection” which was the mark of his attempt to study human difference.

• As Darwin emerged on the study of human differences, his half cousin Sir Francis Galton aspired to classify people based on their natural gifts and to ascertain their deviation from an average, and even established his Anthropometric Laboratory.

• Galton pioneered the use of statistical techniques central to psychological experimentation and testing: the coefficient of correlation.

• Karl Pearson developed the product-moment correlation technique.• Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory at the

University of Leipzig in Germany, he focused on questions relating to how people were similar

• James McKeen Cattell completed his Ph.D dissertation that dealt with human differences, and when he returned to University of Pennsylvania he coined the term “mental test” in a certain publication.

• Charles Spearman is credited with originating the concept of test reliability as well as building the mathematical framework for the statistical technique of factor analysis.

• Victor Henri collaborated with Binet and suggested how mental tests will be used to higher mental processes.

• Emil Kraepelin was an early experimenter with the use of word-association technique as a formal test.

• Lightmer Witmer has been cited as the little-founder of clinical psychology

• In 1905, Theodore Simon and Alfred Binet published a 30-item intelligence test to help identify the mentally retarder school children in Paris

• In 1939, David Wechsler began to design a intelligence test for adults.• Rober S. Woodworth was assigned to develop a measure of

adjustment and emotional instability that could be administered quickly and efficiently in the military settings, and it lead to the classification of the 2 different types of tests:– Self-Report- a method of assessment that would soon be employed in a long

line of succeeding personality tests– Projective Tests- a test in which an individual is assumed to project onto

some ambiquous stimuli his or her own unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation.

CULTURE AND ASSESSMENT• Culture- the socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs, and products

of work of a particular population, community, or group of people• Culture-Specific Tests- these are tests designed for use with people from

one culture but not from another.• Culture teaches us specific rituals• Culture points what it means to be born• Culture imparts what is to be valued/prized as well as what is to be

rejected and despised.• Culture teaches people to make expectations of self and others• Issues:

– Verbal communication– Non verbal communication and behavior– Standards of evaluation

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Laws- these are rules that individuals must obey for the good of the society as a whole.

• Code of Professional Ethics- defines the standard care expected of the members of that profession.

I. Concerns of the Public– These are reflected in the extensive involvement of the government

through legislations in many aspects of the assessment process.– Dehumanization: danger of minimizing human uniqueness.– Litigation: court-mediated resolution of legal matters.

• Truth-in-testing-legislation- the primary objective is to give testtakers a way to learn the criteria which they are being judged. As well as test development information.– REQUIREMENTS:

• Test Purpose & Subject Matter• Knowledge & Skills on the test measures• Procedures to ensure scoring accuracy• Procedures in notifying testtakers in case of error in scoring• Procedures to ensure confidentiality

II. The Concerns of the Profession• Theoretical Issues

– Needed in measuring a stable characteristic of the person being tested– Differences in score over time

• Test Adequacy– Is the test psychometrically adequate?

• Actuarial vs. Clinical Judgment– Is it possible for us to make good judgments on a question when we

cannot articulate the basis for the judgment?– ACTUARIAL- occurs when we feed test scores into statistical formulas to

diagnose a psychological condition of predict future performance. We can’t make accurate predictions tailored to individuals, our conclusions will be the same for every person with a given set of test scores.

– CLINICAL- interpret test scores to diagnose a psychological condition or predict future performance. The claim is “what caused what”, but it does not improve experience

• Test-User Qualifications- APA Committee on Ethical Standards for Psychology, entitled; Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids, defined 3-levels of tests’ required knowledge of testing & psychology:

• Level A – tests that can adequately be administered, scored, and interpreted using manual & general orientation

• Level B – tests that require some technical knowledge of test construction and use

• Level C – tests that require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields together with supervised experience

• Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education – a document presenting standards for educational test developers in four areas: – developing/selecting tests,– striving for fairness,– interpreting scores,– informing testtakers

• Testing people with disabilities w/c includes transformation: a)transforming the test – can be taken; b)transforming the responses of the testtakers – scorable; c) meaningfully interpreting the test data request by a terminally ill individual for assistance in quickening the process of dying

Some major issues with regards to CAPA:– Access to test administration, scoring, and

interpretation software (accessibility & duplication)

– Comparability of pencil-and-paper and computerized version of tests (insufficient research)

– Value of computerized test interpretations – Unprofessional, unregulated

“psychologicaltesting” online

III. Rights of the TesttakersA. The right of informed consent - Generally, the client/subject must voluntarily consent, psychologist must inform client about nature and purpose of assessment in understandable language. • Exceptions:

– Sometimes, it is acceptable to test without getting consent – e.g., you have given implied consent to be tested by registering in this course, but I have never sought your explicit consent

– Sometimes it is necessary to test without getting consent, even when consent is explicitly refused by person to be tested – e.g., when mandated by law

B. The right to be informed of test findings

C. The right to privacy and confidentiality• Informed consent• Relevance• Right to Results– Regardless of scoring mechanism, counselors are responsible

to provide appropriate explanations– Must interpret in terms that client can understand –

D. The right to the least stigmatizing label• If categories are used, must be described precisely• Sometimes diagnosis is related to treatment and even if counselor is trying

to be helpful, it is both illegal and unethical to change a diagnosis

ETHICS AND ASSESSMENT• Ethics–is a body of principles of right, proper, or good

conduct. Code of professional ethics which defines the standard of care (level at w/c a prudent professional would provide diagnostic or therapeutic services under similar condition) expected from members of the profession

• Sources for Ethical Decisions: – American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics and Practice– Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education– Standards for School Counselor Competence in Assessment and

Evaluation