.png)
The Practice of Psychological Testing
There is an increase need of program evaluation. Therefore, there is an increase need of program evaluator. What are these programs? These programs are from educational, psychological, industrial, governments, companies, and other social action programs, procedures, products, performances, among others.
Learning Objectives
When you completed this chapter, you should be able to:
1) Discuss the practice of an identify the practitioners of psychological testing;
2) Identify the major developments in the practice of psychological testing in the Philippines;
3) Understand and apply the technical standards for psychological assessment and for reporting test results required of licensed and registered guidance counsellors;
4) Discuss the ethical standards and procedures in assessment required of licensed psychologists.
A program evaluator may be any of the following professionals: guidance counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or human resource specialist. In program evaluation tests may be used as evaluation instruments.
Classes of Decisions
1)
Selection
decisions;
2)
Placement
decisions;
3)
Classification
decisions;
4)
Counseling
and guidance decisions; and
5)
Use of
tests in research
Selection Decisions
In business and industry, selection decisions are made by human resource specialists in recruiting new employees or in recommending to management whom to promote to certain positions in the company. Information obtained from the use of tests must attest to a relationship with success in the job, otherwise its use must be discontinued.
In schools, guidance counsellors submit list of candidates for scholarships based on student grades and results of psychological tests.
Tests are also used in business and industry to fill job vacancies within the company. For instance, HR may administer a battery of tests to employees and judge who is the best candidate to fill in a vacant position in a department or a company branch in another region in the country may be in need of a manager. Who among the senior supervisors or assistant managers is the best person to fill in the position, given the job requirements and the conditions under which the expected duties and responsibilities are to be carried out?
Cronbach and Gleser refer to classification decisions as those concerned with assigning a person to one of several categories, jobs, or programs. The assignment of psychiatric labels, frequently called diagnosis, is an example. However, if the category assignment represents ordered levels of a similar kind of program, the assignment of persons is called placement.
Exploration and choice of careers by students are examples of counselling and guidance decisions. A guidance counsellor uses a battery of tests which includes an aptitude battery, an interest test, among others, to help students make decisions as to the courses they will take. Then before graduation in college counselling could lead into decisions about eh specific career they would like to go into.
Student and professional researchers use standard psychological tests as main tools to gather data. For instance, at least three dozen theses and dissertations have used Cervera’s Filipino Work Values Scale as a main tool for gathering data on work values.
Technical Standards for Assessment and Report
Article VI on Assessment and Report of the Code or Manual of Technical Standards for Licensed and Registered Guidance Counsellors requires the following from practitioners doing psychological assessment:
B. Practitioners must have the professional knowledge, skills, and competencies in test administration, test interpretation and preparing reports.
C. Practitioners should interpret test scores based on appropriate norms.
D. Practitioners should examine and understand the specimen sets, test booklets, manuals, directions, answer sheets, scoring templates, and score reports before administering and assessing.
E. Practitioners should take into account any differences in test administration practices or the client’s familiarity with the test items.
F. In selecting tests, practitioners should use tests that are culturally-fair in terms of gender, ethnic background, religion, race and handicapped conditions.
G. Practitioners should be aware of client’s limitations in understanding language usage and technical terminology.
H. Practitioners should ask the consent of a parent or guardian of a minor before giving an assessment tool and explain the purpose of this.
I. Practitioners should comply with the test administration, test scoring and test interpretation procedures as prescribed in the Test Manual.
J. Practitioners should inform the client of the assessment results in a manner that is clearly understood.
K. A copy of the psychological report stamped with the word CONFIDENTIAL may be provided by the practitioner to the client.
L. Practitioners should use assessment data by taking into account various factors and characteristics of the client being assessed that might affect the practitioner’s judgement or reduce the accuracy of interpretation.
M. Practitioners do not base assessments, recommendations or test results that are out-dated for the current purpose.
N. Practitioners make reasonable efforts to maintain the integrity or security of tests and other assessment techniques.
The
Technical Standards on Assessment and Report touches on the following areas:
1)
Qualifications
of the practitioners,
2)
Consideration
of the condition of and about the examinee,
3)
Choice
of test, and
4)
Communicating
purpose and results of tests.
First and foremost, according to Sec. 23 of Rule III, of the Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9258, the practitioner (in this case of specialty: Psychological Testing) must be a Filipino licensed and registered guidance counselor.
Meanwhile,
the Technical Standards requires from the practitioner:
1)
Competence
(in test administration, test interpretation and preparation of reports);
2)
Professionalism
(in terms of mastery of knowledge and skills);
3)
Commitment
to maintain the integrity or security of tests and other assessment techniques;
and
4)
Avoidance
of basing assessments, recommendations or test results that are out-dated for
the current purpose.
Practitioners should take into consideration the following with regard to their client (i.e., the examinee):
1)
Various
factors and characteristics of the client being assessed that might affect
their judgment or reduce the accuracy of the interpretation; and
2)
Client’s
limitations in understanding language usage and technical terminology.
Practitioners
must see to it that they choose tests that:
1)
Meet
the purpose for which they are to be used and that are appropriate for their
intended client, are culturally-fair in terms of gender, ethnic background,
religion, race, and handicapped conditions; and,
2)
Have
appropriate norms on which to base the interpretation of the test scores.
A client who has not used a computer all his/her life and speaks only his/her local dialect must not be administered in a computerized test in a language that he/she is not even conversant with.
Practitioners, if giving tests to a minor, should ask the consent of his or her parent or guardian and explain the purpose for testing before giving the tests.
They should inform their client the assessment results in a manner that is clearly understood. If a copy of the psychological report is to be provided to the client, it has to be stamped with the word CONFIDENTIAL.
Licensed guidance counsellors from foreign countries/states must have the following qualifications for them to be issued a special permit to practice in the Philippines:
1)
They
are internationally well-known Guidance Counsellors or outstanding experts in
psychological testing/assessment.
2)
Their
services are necessary for the advancement of psychological testing through
transfer of technology.
3)
Their
services are free and limited to indigent clients in particular hospitals,
centres or clinics.
4)
They
are exchange professors in any branch or specialty of guidance and counselling,
in this case Psychological Testing, in schools, colleges and universities
offering the course guidance and counselling.
0 comments: