2.5 Assessment Tools

Assessment Tools

Psychological assessment tools are

• Anything the evaluator can use as a legitimate source of data on the subject evaluated

How do we know what a legitimate source of data is?

• Standardisation

• Objectivity

• Normative test norms

• Reliability

• Validity

Standardization

• All procedures & steps must be conducted with consistency & under the same environment to achieve the same testing performance from those being tested.

Objectivity

• Scoring such that subjective judgments & biases are minimized, with results for each subject taking the test being obtained in the same way

Normative test norms

• The average test score within a large group of people where the performance of one individual can be compared to the results of others by establishing a point of comparison or frame of reference.

Reliability

• Obtaining the same result after multiple testing: test- retest

Validity

• The type of test being administered must measure what it is intended to measure: administration of different tests measuring the same

Tests can be

• Unreliable & unvalid

• Unreliable, but valid

• Reliable, not valid

• Both reliable & valid

A standardized test is a test that

• Administered & scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner.

Standardized tests are designed in a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, & interpretations are 

• Consistent & are administered & scored in a predetermined, standard manner.

How do we classify a tool? we look at →

• Individual or group tests

• Standardized or unstandardized procedures

• The degree of masking the purpose of the test

• Norm or criteria referenced tests

• The degree of structuring the stimuli & responses

A criterion-referenced aim to

• measure performance based on a predetermined criteria.

Norm-referenced test used to estimate

• The position of the tested individual in a predefined population, with respect to the trait being measured.

• Derived from the analysis of test scores & possibly other relevant data from a sample drawn from the population.

• Help identify whether the test taker performed better or worse than other test takers

Pervin (1979) applied the tools of →

• Projective tests

• Subjective tests

• Psychometric test

• Objective tests

Fernández- Ballesteros (1999) applied the tools of →

• Observation techniques

• Objective techniques

• Self-report techniques

• Interviewing techniques

• Subjective techniques

Who can administer these tools?

Professionals

Professional level required follows:

• TRAINING & EXPERIENCE IN CONCRETE SCOPE

• Knowledge of test theory and statistical methods → technical training

• Degree in psychology, psychiatry OR PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY WITH CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE IN CONCRETE SCOPE

Instruments that may be applied, corrected & interpreted with the help of the manual only

Knowledge of test theory and statistical methods → Technical Training

• Construction and use of test

• Psychological aspects

• Statistical aspects of individual differences, personality

• Personality questionnaires

Degree in psychology, psychiatry OR PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY WITH CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

• Deep & underlying test preparation techniques

• Experience in application (individual application scales as Wechsler)

• Projective techniques

When we assess individuals we must know

• What you want to assess

• Why you want to assess

• Who you want to assess