Assessment Flashcards
- Process that determines the presence or absence and level of a characteristic, skill, or behavior within a person
- Can provide a better understanding of behavior
- Utilizes tools for gathering data
Assessment
- Instrument used for gathering data.
- Can take in the form of tests, checklists or others
- Only takes a sample of behavior being studied
Assessment tools
• Deals only with administration of the tool and determining the
numerical values of the data.
• An element of assessment
Measurement
• Use of specific testing procedures to evaluate the abilities, behaviors,
and personal qualities
• Can describe the extent of an individual’s similarity and/ or difference when compared to the population
• Involves the integration of information obtained from multiple sources using multiple methods
• Makes use of the “problem solving approach” by addressing the “referral question.”
Psychological assessment
Pillars of psychological assessment
- Behavioral observation
- Interview
- Personal history / records
- Test results
Observed behavior during the assessment process
Behavioral observation
- Results of the interview with the individual
* Can come from either the subject, the person referring the subject, or both
Interview
- Biography
* School records, government records
Personal history / records
Results of the tests given
Test results
Properties of a test
- Validity
- Reliability
- Utility
- the extent to which a test accurately measures what it is supposed to measure.
- the degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests
Validity
- The overall consistency of a measure.
* if it produces similar results under consistent conditions
Reliability
Usefulness of the tool for the particular context
Utility
Kinds of assessment
- achievement test
- mental ability test
- aptitude test
- personality test
- Tests that measures what has been learned within a specific period of time
- Measures how much one has learned within the given time
- Ex. Quizzes, Periodical Exams, etc.
Achievement test
- Measures one’s level of mental ability
- Also called IQ test
- Results can be relatively stable upon adulthood
Mental ability test
- Measures the inclination of individuals to certain specific areas
- Determines what particular field or work an individual would most possibly be successful at
- Helps determine the fit of an individual for a particular job
Aptitude test
- Measures facets of personality (attitudes, perceptions, interests, etc.)
- Measures a much broader range of characteristic or behavior
- Measures personality according to theoretical constructs used by the test
Personality test
General methods of assessment
- formal assessment
* informal assessment
- Standardized and generally carried out in a professional setting
- Done in an orderly, systematic manner
- Utilize statistics in the interpretation of data
Formal assessment
- Everyday assessments people make about themselves or others
- Does not observe formal process
- Unstructured, based on simple observations and informal settings
Informal assessment
