Communicating Assessment Results 3

Question 1

Why is it important to do a feedback sessions with parents?

Answer 1

The ultimate purpose of assessment is to help the child; thus, providing specific test information can help parents make informed decisions about any concrete steps that should be taken for their child

Question 2

When providing parents with feedback regarding test outcomes for their children, What a counsellors should consider doing and applying?

Answer 2

• Inform parents about the purpose of the testing
• Show empathy but be honest about results
• Explain the results in a meaningful way
• Use graphs to help clarify outcomes
• Spend time addressing concerns or questions. Parents may be apprehensive about the findings of the test, and fearful of its impact on their child’s future.
• Be patient with the parents and understanding
• Do not overwhelm parents with too much information, keep the explanations simple
• Avoide scientific jargon and only provide meaningful information

Question 3

The Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (Joint Committee on Testing Practices, 2004) states that parents or guardians should be informed…?

Answer 3

• should be informed about how test scores will be stored and to whom and under what circumstances scores will be released.
• should be informed of how to register complaints and have testing problems resolved.
• should be informed about the rights of test takers and whether they can obtain copies of their child’s tests and completed answer sheets, and if their child can retake tests, have tests rescored, or cancel scores.

Question 4

Sattler and Hoge (2006, p. 166) provide a four-phase model for presenting assessment findings to parents. What are they?

Answer 4

• Phase 1: Establishing Rapport.
• Phase 2: Communicating Assessment Results
• Phase 3: Discuss recommendation
• Phase 4: Terminating the Interview

Question 5

What happens in Phase 1 of presenting assessment findings to parents?

Answer 5

Establishing Rapport.
o Arrange to meet with parents in a private setting, and make every effort to have both parents or guardians present at the interview.
o Examiners should help parents feel comfortable during the session
o Encourage parents to talk freely and ask questions.
o Inform parents about the purpose of the testing

Question 6

What happens in Phase 2 of presenting assessment findings to parents?

Answer 6

Communicating Assessment Results
o Assessment results and their implications should be summarized as clearly as possible, in a straightforward, detailed, and unambiguous manner.
o Use graphs to help clarify outcomes.
o Show empathy but be honest about results.
o Expecting that some of the information may arouse hostility or anxiety in parents.
o They need to help parents express their feelings and have their feelings acknowledged by the exam-iner.
o The hope is that the parents will develop realistic perceptions and expectations for their child.

Question 7

What happens in Phase 3 of presenting assessment findings to parents?

Answer 7

Discuss recommendation
o Allowing time for parents to assimilate the results.
o Help them formulate a plan of action.
o The parents may want specific recommendations or program suggestions, and the examiner should be prepared to provide these.

Question 8

What happens in Phase 4 of presenting assessment findings to parents?

Answer 8

Terminating the Interview
o summarize the assessment results and recommendations
o Spend time addressing concerns or questions: additional questions?
o Examiners should also inform parents that they are available for additional meetings.

Question 9

What are Assessment Reports?

Answer 9

often called a psychological report or a psychoeducational report, and they summarize the data collected from interviews, tests, and observations that directly addressed the reason for assessment.

Question 10

Assessment reports serve multiple purposes, what are they?

Answer 10

o summarize data collected from different sources (interviews, tests, observations) and methods
o Describe the client
o Interpret the client’s performance on assessment instruments
o answer referral questions (e.g. does this student have a learning disability?)
o provide the referral source with additional information about the client
o create a record of the assessment for future use
o recommend a specific course of action (e.g. regarding an educational program, therapy, or other intervention)

Question 11

How Assessment reports can be beneficial for the future?

Answer 11

Reports also create a record of the assessment for future use and may serve as a legal document

Question 12

Assessment reports are tailored to …..

Answer 12

address the referral questions and the intended audiences, and Each referral source has different information needs.

Question 13

In Assessment reports, information should be integrated from where and how?

Answer 13

integrate information from multiple assessment methods, including interviews, observations, tests, and records.

• The extent to which reports integrate assessment information varies greatly.
• Reports that are low on integration generally focus more on test scores, neglect inconsistent results between various methods, ignore the over-all context of the client, and do not discuss the meaning of the scores for the client.
• An integrated report carefully blends assessment findings so that they have specific meaning for the client

Question 14

What is the length of written reports?

Answer 14

vary substantially.

based on the purpose of the report, the context (i.e., educational, mental health, medical, or vocational settings), the expectations of the referral source, the importance and impact of the assessment, and the complexity and quantity of information to be reported.