Assessment in Counseling

Chapter 1

2

What is assessment?

Needs to be systematic and objective

Sample(s) of behavior from which we make inferences

Measurement some aspect of the client

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Terminology

Assessment

Appraisal

Testing

Tests vs. instruments

4

Do Counselors Need to Know about Assessment?

American Counseling Association’s (2005) Code of Ethics

Survey results

Counselor credibility

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Assessment is Integral to Counseling

Essential steps in counseling:1. Assessing the client problem(s)

2. Conceptualizing and defining the client problem(s)3. Selecting and implementing

effective treatments4. Evaluating the counseling

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Assessment can be therapeutic

Finn and Tonsager (1992, 1997)

Assisting clients in decision making

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Do counselors ever use formal assessment strategies?

Counselors in diverse settings: View formal assessment strategies as

a significant aspect of their work Use many of the same assessment

instruments Need to be competently trained in the

use of commonly-used instruments

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Reasons Counselors Should be Competent in Assessment Expectations of being professional Identification of problems Access to diverse client

information Assisting clients in decision-making Verifying client strengths and

limitations Can influence credibility Accountability

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What do counselors need to know?

1. Skill in practice and knowledge of theory relevant to the testing context and type of counseling specialty

1. A thorough understanding of testing theory, techniques of test construction, test reliability and validity

1. A working knowledge of sampling techniques, norms, and descriptive, correlation and predictive statistics

1. Ability to review, select, and administer tests appropriate for clients or students and the context of the counseling practice

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What do counselors need to know?

(cont.)

5. Skills in administration of tests and interpretation of test scores

6. Knowledge of the impact of diversity on testing accuracy, including age, gender, ethnicity, race, disability, and linguistic differences

7. Knowledge and skill in the professionally responsible use of assessment and evaluation practice

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Types of Assessment Tools

Standardized vs. nonstandardized Individual vs. group Objective vs. subjective Speed vs. power Verbal vs. nonverbal

Performance tests Cognitive vs. affective

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Cognitive versus Affective Tools

Cognitive instruments assess cognition, perceiving, processing, concrete and abstract thinking, and remembering. Intelligence or general ability tests Achievement tests Aptitude tests

Affective instruments assess interest, attitudes, values, motives, temperaments, and noncognitive aspects of personality. Structured personality instruments Projective techniques

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History

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Early Testing Greeks – 2500 years ago

Chinese – 2000 years ago

Francis Galton – credited with launching the testing movement

James McKeen Cattell – expanded testing to include memory and other simple mental processes (student of Wilhelm Wundt)

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1900 to 1920 Binet-Simon scale (published in 1905)

ratio of mental age to chronological age (IQ)

Stanford-Binet scale (published in 1916)

World War I and beginnings of interest in group testing

Frank Parsons – “father of guidance”

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1920s and 1930s Theoretical discussions concerning

characteristics of intelligence

Interest in testing spread beyond intelligence – led to development of self-report personality inventories

Rorschach inkblots technique developed in 1921

Private industries expressed interest in tests for selecting and classifying industrial personnel

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1920s and 1930s (cont.)

Development of vocational counseling instruments

First standardized achievement battery published in 1923

First edition of Mental Measurements Yearbook published in 1939

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1940s and 1950s Dissatisfaction with existing personality

instruments – projective techniques became popular

Early 1940s – MMPI was developed Standardized achievement tests

became well-established in public schools – multiple aptitude batteries appeared after 1940

Criticisms of assessment began to emerge – standards set, need for centralized publication of tests, electronic scoring

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1960s and 1970s Examination and evaluation of testing

and assessment – widespread public concern

Grass roots movement encouraged more “minimum competency” testing – high school graduates

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 1974

Increased use of computers

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1980s and 1990s Use of computers in assessment

blossomed: administration, scoring, interpretation, report-writing

Many instruments were revised in response to criticism

Increasing use of authentic and portfolio assessment

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2000s to the present Influences of technology and the

Internet

Multicultural issues will be a focus of research

Increased interest in accountability information and effectiveness data