Selecting, Administering, Scoring, and Interpreting Assessment Results 1

Question 1

The choice of instruments or strategies for a specific assessment will depend on several factors, such as?

Answer 1

o The type of information needed
o the needs of the client
o resource constraints
o the time frame available for the assessment
o the quality of the assessment instrument,
o the qualifications of the counselor.

Question 2

What are the steps when Selecting assessment instruments and strategies?

Answer 2

1. Identify the type of information needed
2. Identify available information about the client
3. Determine the methods for obtaining information about the client
4. Search assessment resources
5. Evaluate and select an assessment instrument or strategy

Question 3

What is the first step Selecting assessment instruments and strategies?

Answer 3

1-Identify the type of information needed

Question 4

why Identifying the type of information needed

Answer 4

Any assessment instrument or strategy is useful only if it provides the information required for the assessment..

Question 5

How Counselors Identifying the type of information needed? Give an example

Answer 5

based on the purpose for assessment.
• E.g., a career counselor working with a client who wants to change careers will need to obtain information such as the client’s employment history, educational background, aptitudes, interests, and values

Question 6

What is the second step in Selecting assessment instruments and strategies?

Answer 6

2-Identify available information about the client

Question 7

What can be the available information about the client?

Answer 7

Identify and review pre-existing assessment information about clients such as:
o questionnaires
o biographical data
o preliminary diagnoses
o school grades/attendance and health records, educational history
o family history
o previous assessment results

Question 8

Why it is important to Identify available information about the client?

Answer 8

This information can be useful in the current assessment process

Counselor have to be careful not to over-assess or to give the client a test that is similar to a previous they took as this can decrease the motivation of the client.
For example, one school district gave all of its students in grades 9 and 10 the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, the Differential Aptitude Test, the School and College Ability Tests, and the California Test of Mental Maturity. These tests repeatedly assessed the same factors, and the results of multiple tests did not provide enough additional information to warrant such testing practices.

It may be helpful to develop a checklist of information typically available on clients in a particular context.

Question 9

What is the third step in Selecting assessment instruments and strategies?

Answer 9

3-Determine the methods for obtaining information about the client

Question 10

What are the methods for obtaining information about the client? give examples

Answer 10

Counselors can choose from both formal and informal assessment instruments and strategies such as interviews, tests, observations
o E.g. to assess a student learning disability, a counselor can use rating scales, ability tests, and the Functional Behavioral Assessment
o E.g. to assess a student’ s career interests, a counselor can use the interest inventory and an interview

Question 11

What are recommended for Counselors to do when Determining the methods for obtaining information about the client?

Answer 11

o use a combination of assessment instruments in order to get in depth information
o choose assessment methods that are suitable to the client and the setting
o choose assessment methods that they are qualified to administer

Question 12

What is the fourth step in Selecting assessment instruments and strategies?

Answer 12

4-Search assessment resources

Question 13

What are assessment resources?

Answer 13

• There are thousands of formal and informal assessment instruments available
• Counselors need to know how to locate and access information about instruments
• There is no single source avail-able that catalogs every possible formal and informal assessment instrument.
• Sources vary with respect to detail; some provide comprehensive information, while others merely provide descriptions of tests.

Question 14

What are the The most common sources of information about assessments?

Answer 14

o	References sources 
o	Test Publisher Catalogs 
o	Test Manuals 
o	Research Literature 
o	Internet Resources 
o	Professional Organizations 
o	Unpublished Instruments

Question 15

What are some examples of References sources?

Answer 15

1Mental Measurements Yearbook (1938 Oscar K. Buros)

2Tests in Print (TIP; Anderson, Schlueter, Carlson, & Geisinger, 2016)

3 Tests Critiques and Tests

Question 16

1Mental Measurements Yearbook (1938 Oscar K. Buros)

What does it provide?

Answer 16

Provide:
- evaluative information needed for informed test selection.

• descriptive information for over 2800 tests, including the publisher, prices, population for whom the test is appropriate, and psychometric information (i.e., reliability, validity, norming data).
• critical reviews by test experts as well as a list of reviewer’s references.

Question 17

2Tests in Print (TIP; Anderson, Schlueter, Carlson, & Geisinger, 2016)
What is it?
What does it include?
How it help MMY readers?

Answer 17

• It is a comprehensive listing of all commercially available tests
• It includes the same basic information about a test that is included in the MMY, but it does not contain reviews or psychometric information.
• The TIP guides readers to the MMY for more detailed information about tests

Question 18

3 Tests Critiques and Tests

What is test and what is test Critiques?

Answer 18

Tests provides a comprehensive listing of all tests available in the English language. It provides descriptions of tests but does not contain critical reviews or psychometric information; this information can be found for selected instruments in Test Critiques.

Test Critiques, designed to be a companion to Tests, contains a three-part description for each test that includes Introduction, Practical Application/Uses, and Technical Aspects. It also provides psychometric information and a critical review of each test.

Question 19

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Tests Critiques and Tests?

Answer 19

Advantages:
- Contain critical reviews of the test by experts Contain bibliography of studies done using the test, such as those to assess the validity and reliability of the test
Disadvantages:
- May present dated information because some volumes are published infrequently
- Can present a spotty or biased review because reviewers do not follow a common format
- Do not discuss thoroughly the purposes and pos-sible applications of the test

Question 20

What does Test Publisher Catalogs provide and include? And what do they not provide?

Answer 20

 (provide descriptions of the most recent editions of tests as well as costs and scoring)
 The information may include the cost of materials and scoring, types of scoring services, and ancillary materials available through the publisher.
 It is important to remember that publishers’ websites are marketing tools aimed at selling products; they do not provide all the information needed to fully evaluate a test.

Question 21

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Test Publisher Catalogs?

Answer 21

Advantages:
 Can get current information on the cost of the test and scoring services available
 Can get information on new tests and ser-vices available

Disadvantages:
 Sometimes presents biased picture of the test
 Sometimes does not have necessary technical and practical information, such as time required, age or grade levels appropriate, sources from which to get complete test package, and basic information to screen quickly for appropriateness (such as a description of scales or subtests)

Question 22

Test Manuals:
From who?
What does it provide?
Tests manuals should be?
What are their role in the test selection process?

Answer 22

 Test manuals, available from test publishers

 provide administrative and technical information about a test.
 The manual should provide information about test specifications (i.e., purpose of the test, definition of constructs measured, description of the population for which the test is intended, and information about interpretation) and general standards for the preparation and publication of test documentation: manuals and user guides

 Tests manuals should be complete, accurate, current, and clear.

 because most of the information one would want about a particular psychological or educational test can be found in test manuals, they are the primary source to consult in the test selection process.

Question 23

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Test Manuals?

Answer 23

Advantages:
 Provide in-depth information on the nature of the instrument
 Describe the processes involved in test development
 Provide technical information Describe norm groups
 Provide guidelines for administration and interpretation

Disadvantages:
 May present dated and biased material
 Can be highly technical or oversimplified May require background in measurement theory

Question 24

Research Literature:
What is it
Where is it found?
Advantages and Disadvantages?

Answer 24

specific journal articles on test reviews or about research studies using specific tests can provide professionals with information about widely used assessment instruments.

(published research in Academic journals related to Assessment provide specific information about assessments used in education, psychology, and other)

Advantages
 Contains validity and reliability studies
 Contains reviews of certain instruments
 Contains research on issues in assessment
Disadvantage
 Contains spotty reviews without a common for-mat and reviews only a few tests
 May take 2 to 3 years to get information into print because of publication backlog

Question 25

Internet Resources

What are the to search for test information in the Internet?

Answer 25

• The Test Locator allows users to search for information about instruments from a variety of sources. The Test Locator is available through several sponsored websites, including the Buros Institute and the Educational Testing Ser-vice, and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation
• Test reviews from the Mental Measurements Yearbook are available online for a fee
• Information about instruments can also be found through an online search of PsycINFO, which is an abstract database that indexes all published research in psychology from the 1800s to the present.
• Psychological Abstracts is the print counterpart to PsycINFO, and PsycLIT is the CD-ROM version of PsycINFO.

Question 26

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Internet Resources?

Answer 26

Advantages
 Present information that is retrievable through computerized searches
 Identify from a variety of sources the major tests and instruments developed
 May be updated systematically and published regularly

Disadvantage
 Identify sources that are not always readily available
 May use unfamiliar tests
 Involve a time lag between article publication and inclusion in the abstract

Question 27

o Professional Organizations
What are they?
Examples?
Advantages and Disadvantages?

Answer 27

A number of professional organizations exist that provide information on assessment. Most have websites or publish journals, newsletters or other publications about general assessment issues or about assessment in a specific context

(e.g. American Psychological Association, Educational Testing Service, Association of Test Publishers)

Advantages
 Keep abreast of new tests, texts, reference books in field, and issues related to test construction, administration, and interpretation
 Sometimes offer up-to-date bibliographies of articles and research reports using or evaluating a given test or test procedure

Disadvantage
 Can present biased information Can require a subscription cost
 Do not index sources, so information may be hard to retrieve

Question 28

Unpublished Instruments
What are they?
Examples?
Advantages and Disadvantages?

Answer 28

There is a vast quantity of unpublished or noncommercial inventories, checklists, projective techniques, and other instruments that exist in the social sciences research literature.

(e.g. the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Measures which provides access to developed tests that are not commercially available)

Advantages
 Provide information on instruments not com-mercially available

Disadvantage
 May include dated and sometimes incomplete sources
 May not present information on many of the technical and practical issues, such as cost and time