Assessment 1 Final Exam

An objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior

The technical term for the science behind psychological testing

a process that involves the integration of information from multiple sources, such as tests of normal and abnormal personality, tests of ability or intelligence, tests of interests or attitudes, as well as information from personal interviews.

to “Define the purpose for testing, the content and skills to be tested, and the intended test takers.

when it answers a client’s question and is seamlessly integrated into the therapeutic process.

• Appropriate selection of norming group or criterion
• Reliability
• Validity
• Bias
• Interpretation and scoring materials
• User qualifications

• Nominal-Classification by names (e.g., colors, political parties, ethnicities, etc.)
• Ordinal-Rank ordering by magnitude (e.g., pain, depression, sickness scale ratings)
• Interval-Units of measurement are in equal intervals (e.g., measures of IQ, time, weight, etc.)
• Ratio- Similar to interval scale, but “zero” is meaningful (e.g., miles/hour, temperature)

interval scores

tests where the individual’s performance is compared to scores of other individuals who have taken the same test.

the individual’s score is compared with an established standard or criterion. Criterion-referenced tests are also sometimes called domain- or objective-referenced.  The individual is judged as to whether his/her performance reaches a certain standard of performance within a certain domain of knowledge (e.g., licensing exams, BAR exam, CPA exam, etc.)

• Test has to appropriately assess the domain of knowledge. However, experts often have difficulty agreeing upon what information comprises their core domain of knowledge
• Another difficulty is determining the criterion for mastery level. For example, if mastery is set at 90%, has a person not mastered the material if they score 89%?

• mean: statistical average
• median: the true middle 
• mode: most frequent score

• Range-The range provides a measure of the spread of scores and indicates the variability between the highest and the lowest scores.
• Variance and Standard Deviation-Indicate how scores vary around the mean.

The normal curve is bell-shaped with a single peak and the mode, median and mean are the same score.

• 68% of the cases fall between one S.D. below and one S.D. above the mean
• 95% of cases fall between + 2 S.D.
• 5% of cases fall between + 3 S.D.

indicate the percentage of people in the norming group who had a score at or below a given raw score.

can be used with all types of tests (e.g., intelligence tests, personality tests, career assessments). Standard scores provide a quick, easy way to know a client’s relative position on a test because standard scores describe how many standard deviations a client’s score is from the mean

• z Scores-to convert a raw score to a z-score, subtract the mean of the test from the client’s raw score and divide by the standard deviation of the test. Mean=0 and SD=1
• T Scores-T scores have a fixed mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. A z score can be converted to a T score by multiplying the z score by 10 and adding or subtracting the number from 50.
• Stanines-range from 1-9, M=5 and SD =2. They represent a range of percentile scores

Reliability provides an estimate of the amount of true variance to observed variance.

used to measure the degree to the extent of shared variance between two variables.

• Test-Retest Reliability-Correlating the performance of the first test administration and the second.
• Alternate or Parallel Forms-requires that there be two forms of a test. Persons are given one form and then administered the alternative form and a correlation between the two forms is calculated and the estimated reliability is determined. Care should be taken to assure that the two forms are truly parallel.
• Internal Consistency Measures of Reliability-these methods of estimating reliability use one administration and a single form of the test.

Standard error of measurement provides an estimation of the range of scores that would be obtained if someone took the test over and over again. The SEM can be used to provide a client with an expected range of where his/her true score would fall.

Does the test measure what it purports to measure

It is not the test that is validated, rather, it is the uses of the test that are validated.

Content validity-do the test items measure the intended behavioral domain

Criterion-related validity- refers to the extent to which the test is a good predictor of a certain criterion. When we want a test to predict future behavior, the validation evidence must focus on how well  the test predicts future performance (e.g., the SAT)

• Concurrent validity-we use to make immediate predictions
• Predictive validity-we are making predictions in the future

Construct validity-does the test measure a theoretical or hypothetical construct or trait.

1902 - Mental Status Examination (MSE) was introduced to American psychiatry by Adolf Meyer

may be done to determine the need for more detailed psychological assessment

• General Appearance
• Feeling ( Affect & Mood)
• Perception
• Thinking (Intellectual functioning, memory, attention & concentration, insight and judgment)
• Thought content

thinking

• Elimination of the Verbal and Performance IQ’sUpdated norms
• 15 subtests vs. 14 subtests on the WAIS-III
• Full Scale IQ and Indexes based on 10 core subtests

• WAIS-IV-Split half reliability for FSIQ=.98
• The test-retest (M=22 days) reliability for the FSIQ=.96Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) for FSIQ=2.16
• Because extensive validity studies exist on the WAIS-III, the most important step in the validation of the WAIS-IV was to determine the comparability of the two tests.  The WAIS-IV and WAIS III correlation=.94.

• Elimination of the Verbal and Performance IQ’s
• Four main indexes: Verbal Comprehension (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning (PRI), Working Memory (WMI) and Processing Speed (PSI)

• Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI);
• Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI);
• Working Memory Index (WMI);
• Processing Speed Index (PSI)

Vocabulary (VCI)             Block Design (PRI)

Similarities (VCI)              Matrix Reasoning (PRI)

Information (VCI)             Visual Puzzles (PRI)

Arithmetic (WMI)             Coding (PSI)

Digit Span (WMI)             Symbol Search (PSI)

.98

• Critical examination of one’s own attitudes and beliefs
• Cultural knowledge
• Effective communication
• Practice

Psychologists base assessments on techniques sufficient to substantiate findings (9.01a), and conduct examinations that are adequate to support their findings (9.01b)

obtained from test subject, with noted limitations (e.g., mandated test)

as determined by client’s release to specified individual(s), except by court order; may decline to release data if the psychologist has reason to believe that such release may harm client

Psychologists take care to interpret results in light of assessment question and client characteristics; limitations of data are noted

Psychologists take reasonable efforts to explain test results to clients in understandable form

“the presence of systematic error in the measurement of certain factors (e.g., academic potential, intelligence, psychopathology) among certain individuals or groups”

are the psychometric properties consistent across cultures; are observed differences in performance associated with factors not related to psychological variables (e.g, SES); is predictive validity similar; is there a multicultural-specific test; use different criterion measures; change the social environment; diagnose interpret carefully, with disclaimers if necessary

• Predict short-term scholastic performance
• Assess an individual’s relative strengths & weaknesses; identify those needing help
• Predict occupational achievement
• Reveal important personality variables
• Permit the researcher, educator, or clinician to trace possible changes in an individual or population

• Limited in predicting certain aspects of occupational success and nonacademic skills, such as creativity, motivational level, social acumen, emotional intelligence, and success in dealing with people
• IQ scores are not measures of an innate, fixed ability, and their use in classifying minority groups has been questioned; danger of inaccurate stereotyping
• There has been an overemphasis on understanding the end product of cognitive functioning and a relative neglect in appreciating the underlying cognitive processes

• History of presenting concern: onset, frequency, duration, previous attempts to address
• Social history: family of origin, cultural identification, SES, relevant academic/vocational/avocational factors, peer relationships
• Personal issues: early life memories, trauma history, sexuality concerns, substance abuse
• Current family/work/academic life: job, relationship satisfaction; social support system
• Physical/mental health history: ability status, self-care, self-esteem

• Make it a Therapeutic Process-Involve the Client
• Optimize, not maximize the power of the test
• Use Descriptive, not technical terms
• Provide a Range of scores, not single score
• Explain findings in probabilities, not definitive statements
• Put testing findings in context of other information and the referral question
• Encourage Questions
• Summarize Results-then ask the client to summarize

• Similarities (VCI)
• Vocabulary (VCI)
• Block Design (VSI)
• Matrix Reasoning (FR)
• Figure Weights (FR)
• Digit Span (WMI)
• Coding (PSI)

• Similarities (VCI)
• Vocabulary (VCI)
• Block Design (VSI)
• Visual Puzzles (VSI)
• Matrix Reasoning (FR)
• Figure Weights (FR)
• Digit Span (WMI)
• Picture Span (WMI)
• Coding (PSI)
• Symbol Search (PSI)

They allow the clinician to explore specific cognitive hypotheses related to children’s WISC-V scores in the context of their performance in the classroom.

• Quantitative Reasoning Index
• Auditory Working Memory Index
• Nonverbal Index
• Cognitive Proficiency Index
• General Ability Index

They are designed to provide examiners with more detailed information relevant to psychoeducational evaluations of children referred for specific learning disorders such as in reading and mathematics

• Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IV
• The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence 4 (TONI-4)

• Given in conjunction with Group achievement tests
• Initial screening tools for children needing further testing (LD, DD)
• Evaluate an entire school

• Cannot observe behaviors that reflect the level of motivation
• Requires more reading-problematic for individuals with limited reading skills.
• Not sensitive to individual’s culture, background and language proficiencies
• Not as sophisticated and detailed as individually administered tests

• Infants and preschool children have the least stable IQ scores
• IQ is fairly steady throughout adulthood with slight decline after age 65.

Academic performance r=.5

Cultural environments

Schooling and the amount of schooling

Familial environments (parents interest in achievement; severely neglectful or abusive )

Exposure to toxins (lead; prenatal exposure to large amounts of alcohol in the womb)

Gender differences-no general intellectual differences, but men tend to score better in visual-spatial ability and women better on verbal tasks

Ethnic differences-African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans tend to score lower on IQ tests than European and Asian Americans

• Survey Achievement Batteries-Assess wide range of subjects: reading, mathematics, language arts, science, social studies. Norm- or criterion referenced or both
• Individual & Diagnostic Achievement Tests-administered individually and can assist with diagnosis ( learning disability) or academic achievement.
• Criterion-referenced and minimum-level skills assessment-criterion is set establishing the base level at which a person must perform to (e.g., to advance to the next grade, or graduate from high school)

• Updated norms, the WRAT4
• A new measure of reading achievement—Sentence Comprehension
• The interpretation of WRAT4 scores has been enhanced by the addition of grade-based norms, thereby increasing the usefulness of the test in Grades K-12.
• The age-based norms also have been extended from 75 years in the third edition to 94 years so that the basic literacy skills of older adults can be assessed.

• norm-referenced test that measures the basic academic skills of word reading, sentence comprehension, spelling, and math computation.
• standardized on national sample of over 3,000, age from 5 to 94 years.
• normative sample stratified controlling for   age, gender, ethnicity, geographic region, and parental/obtained education as an index of SES
• Alternate forms, designated the Blue Form and the Green Form, were developed and equated during standardization

• *Word Reading measures letter and word decoding through letter identification and word recognition.
• *Sentence Comprehension measures an individual's ability to gain meaning from words and to comprehend ideas and information contained in sentences through the use of a modified cloze technique. *Can be combined to form a Reading Composite Score
• Spelling measures an individual's ability to encode sounds into written form through the use of a dictated spelling format containing both letters and words.
• Math Computation measures an individual's ability to perform basic mathematics computations through counting, identifying numbers, solving simple oral problems, and calculating written mathematics problems

• Collect initial data for psychological, educational, and vocational assessments;
• Reevaluate individuals diagnosed with learning and/or cognitive disorders;
• Contribute to research projects needing assessment of basic academic skills for pre-testing and post-testing purposes;
• Evaluate achievement-ability discrepancies to identify specific learning disabilities;

• Determine a minimal level of proficiency needed to perform in certain educational and/or vocational settings; and
• Assess an individual's academic progress over time.

• Internal consistency reliability ranges from .94 to .98
• WRAT validity is based on its correlation to other similar measures of achievement such as the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) or the Woodcock-Johnson Battery, or the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA). These correlations range between .42 and .92

• Ease of administration and scoring; takes very little time.
• Psychometrically sound
• Has excellent standardization
• Correlates well with other achievement and cognitive tests
• In clinical studies, separates people with learning or cognitive deficits from people without

• Only screens for strengths and weaknesses
• Does not measure other important achievement abilities.
• In later adolescent and adult years, WRAT-4 does not adequately measure skills of readers that are above-average or advanced.
• Only a small number of appropriate items for younger children being tested.

• Attention-short-term memory, staying focused
• Language-reading, writing, understanding spoken language
• Memory-short & long-term memory, memory acquisition, consolidation and retrieval
• Spatial-spatial judgment, directions, manual tasks
• Executive Reasoning-planning, problem solving
• Perseverations, Motor-Fine motor coordination, tremors
• Emotional-Appropriate/inappropriate behavior

• Is what you are doing in therapy making a difference?
• Is the difference measurable?
• Is the difference clinically significant?

• Measures that you may design specifically to assess certain aspects of therapy (weight loss, exercise compliance, medication compliance, homework compliance, rating scales for various behaviors)
• Symptom Checklist 90-R
• Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS)
• Geriatric Depression Scale-15
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist
• Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)

• Establishing a plan of cognitive rehabilitation
• Assisting in developing an IEP
• Litigation and other Forensics
• Life Care Planning
• Research

brain-behavioral relationships

• 12 subtests
• five Indexes
• one Total Score
• take about 20-30 minutes to administer
• ages of 20-89
• Can be used as a screening battery when more detailed testing is not available or practical
• an ideal screening procedure