A Modern Assessment Psychometric Approach to Dynamic Assessment

Although dynamic assessment (DA) has been hailed as a positive move towards fair assessment, it has generally not been used in educational or industry settings to the same extent that standard (static) tests have been. The present article attempts to elucidate how the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computerised Adaptive Testing (CAT) can address some of the problems typically associated with dynamic assessment. An example of a DA tool that makes use of IRT and CAT, shows acceptable psychometric properties and is comparable to standard tests in terms of ease of administration illustrates the possibility of wider application of DA in both educational and industry settings.     

Cognitive Assessment: Clinical Applications of Self-Statement Assessment

The author presents an overview of cognitive assessment, with an emphasis on self-statement assessment. The overview includes the historical underpinnings of cognitive assessment and their connection with cognitive science. The author reviews clinically useful methods of cognitive assessment and presents the States of Mind model to illustrate an interpretive framework for thought data and their relationship to psychopathology. Next, the author presents two case studies to illustrate the specific techniques of self-statement assessment and the clinical utility of that information in the counseling process. Finally, the author reviews some issues that may provoke thought concerning the future of cognitive assessment.     

ADHD Assessment

Abstract

This study examined effects of negative versus positive symptom formats on the assessment and subsequent classification of ADHD in children in public schools. Symptoms associated with the disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were presented to parents and teachers of referred children according to both types of formats. Informants were then asked to indicate whether the symptoms described the child's behavior over the last six months. Overall, the negatively phrased symptoms appeared to generate response bias which resulted in an increased percentage of children meeting the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. Additionally, the decision reliability or classification agreement between the two formats was low, suggesting the possibility of confirmation bias in the assessment process. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Person-Centered Assessment

The use of tests and assessment in person-centered counseling is discussed. In person-centered counseling, the most fundamental value is honoring the client as the authority on his or her own life. The extreme focus of person-centered theory on the “self-authority” tends to militate against the use of tests and assessment. Person-centered counseling includes unsystematic counselor responses, such as reactions, questions, and suggestions. This increasing involvement of the counselor as a person has implications for the use of tests in person-centered counseling.     

Existential Assessment

Present day psychological assessment stems from a philosophy of sicence that values objectivity but fails to comprehend the existence of the person being evaluated. A humanistic-existential model shifts the focus from omnipotence to encounter and encourages client responsibility. The vehicle for this conceptualization is the nature and meaning of the encounter between clinician and client. New questions are posed for the assessor by altering the assessment goals, the stance toward interpretation, and the criterion for validation.     

Neuropsychological Assessment

Although it has been known for more than a hundred years that subtle damage to specific brain areas can result in reading, listening comprehension, and expressive speech problems, the topic of brain-behavior relationships has only recently become of interest to psychologists and others serving children with learning problems. Comprehensive batteries for neuropsychological assessment of children, such as the Reitan-Indiana and Luria-Nebraska Children's Batteries, have demonstrated diagnostic validty, with agreement between findings on the two Batteries in the range of 90%. For those wishing to assess some aspects of children's neuropsychological functioning without the use of a comprehensive battery, guidelines are proposed for the neuropsychological interpretation of assessment instruments commonly used by school psychologists and educational diagnosticians.     

Assessment of Men: Personality Assessment Goes to War by the Office of Strategic Services Assessment Staff

This article, part of the ongoing special series, Personality Assessment Classics in Contemporary Perspective, reviews the book Assessment of Men, written by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Assessment Staff in 1948. It is the story of the development of an assessment program to select spies during World War II. The program was set up by Henry Murray and was run by Murray and Donald Mackinnon. The review describes the assessment setting, the details of the 3.5-day assessment program, and an evaluation of the book in contemporary perspective.     

Assessment of Potential,from Assessment Centers to Development Centers

Are organizations interested in realizing the potential of their employees? How far have they progressed in utilizing performance assessment instruments for developmental purposes? There is a growing need for redirecting organizations towards greater knowledge productivity and using the competencies of their employees in a knowledge-productive way. Development centers provide possibilities for analyzing and diagnosing the relevant competencies of personnel whilst at the same time, providing a match with further development. This study examines managers’ attitudes towards assessment centers and their potential to be used for developmental purposes. The problems and processes involved in using assessment centers in this way were studied within a representative set of large, Dutch organizations. In addition, the conceptions of management and the implementation conditions needed for the introduction of development centers were examined. The advantages of development centers as a knowledge-productive tool for assessment in organizations are discussed to help managers decide about developmental programs.     

Assessment for the Right Reason The Ethics of Outcomes Assessment

This essay explores and challenges the two primary ethical arguments for assessment, accountability, and professional responsibility, by demonstrating their strengths and exposing their weaknesses, which are rooted in their limited notions of community, contract, and guild respectively. In contrast, I argue for assessment on the basis of an ethic of covenantal obligation which incorporates both accountability and responsibility but grounds them on a broader view of community, a view of the teaching-learning environment as a covenant community replete with mutual obligations and responsibilities, one of which is assessment. While the notion of covenant community has deep roots in American society, its theological underpinnings make the ethic of assessment as covenant obligation most relevant to church-related institutions of higher education, the context in which I teach and learn. I conclude the paper by delineating some principles for ethical assessment practice which follow from a covenantal perspective.     

Learning Potential Assessment

This article describes the foundations and uses of learning potential assessment, a dynamic method of determining the student's capacity for cognitive modifiability. The method, which forms the basis for the Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD), can assist in identifying low functioning students whose capacity for greater achievement typically goes undetected with traditional measures. Case studies of the use of LPAD are presented.     

Assessment for psychotherapy

This paper explores some issues that might arise when one considers having a table hockey game in the therapy room, and describes how an autistic boy, aged four-and-a-half when starting treatment, used that game. The unfolding process from withdrawal to separateness, intersubjectivity and playfulness is illustrated by the progress of two years of twice-weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Special attention is paid to how the play progressed through the intermediate area that the therapist provided.     

Assessment in Organisations

Cet article aborde les pratiques actuelles et les tendances émergentes de l’évaluation dans les organisations. Une attention particulière est accordée a l’évaluation en vue du recrutement et de la selection, là où l’apparition de la méta‐analyse a fondamentalement changé la conception que l’on pouvait avoir des tests psychologiques et autres techniques de sélection. On analyse aussi l’impact d’Internet sur les pratiques de sélection. En ce qui concerne l’évaluation post‐embauche, l’obligation pour les organisations d’assumer des changements rapides est raportée à l’importance de la modélisation des compétences. Quelques points‐clés de l’évaluation post‐embauche sont passés en revue (leadership, feedback à 360°). Des perspectives pour la nouvelles recherches sont esquissées; il s’agit de créer des théories et des modèles plus pertinents, mais aussi de progresser dans les études de validitéà partir les données existantes. Finalement, on s’aperçoit que l’essentiel de la littérature actuelle s’appuie sur des recherches réalisées aux Etats‐Unis, un peu au Royaume Uni ou dans d’autres pays d’Europe. Beaucoup de ces recherches sont limitées dans leurs possibilités d’application en ce sens qu’elles ont été men?es sur de grandes organisations. On insiste sur le manque de travaux interculturels et sur la nécessité de s’intéresser à l’ensemble des organisations de travail (des grandes aux petites, des enterprises locales aux multinationals, aux secteurs public et privé). The article considers current practice and merging trends in assessment in organisations. Particular attention is paid to assessment for recruitment and selection, where the use of meta‐analysis techniques has radically changed the way in which psychological tests and other selection techniques are viewed. The impact of the Internet on selection practice is also discussed. For post‐hire assessment, the impact of the need for organisations to undergo rapid change is considered in relation to the importance of competency modelling. Some key areas (leadership, 360‐degree feedback) of post‐hire assessment are reviewed. Issues for future research are outlined. These include the need for better theory and models, together with the need to move ahead of a reliance on old data sets. Finally, it is noted that much of the current literature is based on research in the United States (with some from the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe). Much of the research is also limited in applicability in that it is based on large organisations. The need for more cross‐cultural studies and the need to cover the full range of work organisations (large to small; local to global; private to public sector) is emphasised.     

Evidence-Based Psychological Assessment

In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), and as is true in most health care professions, the primary focus of EBPP has been on treatment. Comparatively little attention has been devoted to applying the principles of EBPP to psychological assessment, despite the fact that assessment plays a central role in myriad domains of empirical and applied psychology (e.g., research, forensics, behavioral health, risk management, diagnosis and classification in mental health settings, documentation of neuropsychological impairment and recovery, personnel selection and placement in organizational contexts). This article outlines the central elements of evidence-based psychological assessment (EBPA), using the American Psychological Association's tripartite definition of EBPP as integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences. After discussing strategies for conceptualizing and operationalizing evidence-based testing and evidence-based assessment, 6 core skills and 3 meta-skills that underlie proficiency in psychological assessment are described. The integration of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences is discussed in terms of the complex interaction of patient and assessor identities and values throughout the assessment process. A preliminary framework for implementing EBPA is offered, and avenues for continued refinement and growth are described.