Chapter 12: informal assessment Flashcards
informal assessment
subjective, mainly “homegrown”
CON: reliability, validity, cross cultural issues often lacking
what can informal techniques do
add one more piece of info to total assessment process
be focused to gather specific information
used to gather info quickly
be non-intrusive
usually free or low cost
tend to be easy to administer and interpret
observation
event sampling: viewing and assessing behavior WITHOUT regard for time
time sampling: specific amount of time set aside for observation, snapshot
rating scale
used to assess a quantity of an attribute being presented to rater
subjective, assessment based on rater’s inner judgement of rater
error w rating scales (2)
halo effect: based on overall impression
generosity error: identification with person effects your rating
types of rating scales
numerical scales: provide written statement that can be rated high to low on number line
likert type: number of items being rates on same theme, anchored by both numbers and a statement that corresponds to number
semantic differential scale: statement+ 1+ pairs of words that reflect opposing traits
rank order scales: provide a series of statements in which respondent can rank order based on his or her prefs
classification systems
provide info about whether an ind does(nt) have certain traits or characteristics
behavior checklist
allows individual to identify behaviors that best describe typical or atypical
feeling word checklists
individuals check feeling words on list to identify which they had/currently experiencing/hope to feel
environmental assessment
collecting information from home, school, workplace, usually through observation or self reports
more systems/naturalistic
direct observation
visit home, classroom, or workplace yourself
situational tests
real to life situations the examine how an ind might respond in contrived but natural situation
sociometric instruments
maps position of an individual within a group
used to determine dynamics of individuals within group, org, or institution
env assessment instruments
CASE-IMS: assesses school environment and climate through self report surveys of parents, students, teachers, principle
Behavior rating inventory of exec function: assesses higher order cognitive functioning of adults
Emotional or Behavior Disorder Scale: identify behavior or emotional problems through observation
records and personal documents
help an examiner understand beleifs, values, behaviors of person being assessed
biographical inventories, cumulative records, anecdotal info, autobiographies, journals and diaries, genograms
performance based assessment
eval of ind using variety of informal assessment procedures that are often based on real world responsibilities
should be as predictive as standardized testing, might lessen racial differences
portfolio
one kind of performance based measure
pulls together items that demonstrate competencies in wide range of areas
validity
how well examiner defines what is being assessed
reliability
better we define behavior being assessed (validity) more reliable our data
interrater reliability
cross cultural fairness
informal procedures often open to bias
misinterpretation, or ignorance
b/c geared towards specific client behaviors, one can pick and choose what to focus on
practicality
VERY practical
low cost, free
can be created or obtained in short amount of time
easy to admin
fairly easy to interpret (minus cross cultural bias)
