testing vs. assessment

8/7/2019 Testing vs. Assessment

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Fe br uar y 14 t h , 2011

Assessment vs. Testing psych. 855

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Assessment is More than Testing:

Assessment is more than testing

Psychological testing (e.g., an intelligence test,

personality test, or mental health test) occurs as part of the process of psychological assessment. Professionalpsychological assessment usually also includes:

interview

demographic information medical information personal history observations by others

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Assessment vs. Testing

Denition of Psychological Testing:

"An objective and standardized measure of a sampleof behavior"

Denition of Psychological Assessment:

"An extremely complex process of solving problems(answering questions) in which psychological testsare often used as one of the methods of collectingrelevant data"

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from Wikipedia:

Psychological testing is a eld characterized by the use of samples of behaviorin order to assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotionalfunctioning, about a given individual. The technical term for the science behindpsychological testing is psychometrics. By samples of behavior , one meansobservations of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribedbeforehand, which often means scores on a test. These responses are often

compiled into statistical tables that allow the evaluator to compare the behaviorof the individual being tested to the responses of a norm group.

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Question: Which one is a

psychological test? A.) Developmental Questionnaire

B.) Woodcock Johnson Tests of AchievementC.) WISC-IV

D.) Beck Depression Inventory

E.) All of the Above

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Answer is: DPsychological assessment is similar to psychological testing but usually involvesa more comprehensive assessment of the individual. Psychological assessmentis 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.Collateral information is also collected about personal, occupational, or medicalhistory, such as from records or from interviews with parents, spouses, teachers,or previous therapists or physicians.

A psychological test is one of the sources of data used within the process of assessment; usually more than one test is used. Many psychologists do somelevel of assessment when providing services to clients or patients, and may usefor example, simple checklists to assess some traits or symptoms, butpsychological assessment is a more complex, detailed, in-depth process.counseling or training.

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Reframe the Assessment in

the Problem Solving MethodThe Problem Solving process consists of a sequence of sectionsthat fit together depending on the type of problem to be solved.

These are:

Problem Definition. Problem Analysis Generating possible Solutions. Analyzing the Solutions.

Selecting the best Solution(s). Planning the next course of action (Next Steps)

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Consider...

Problem Definition -->Present Academic & Behavioral Concerns Problem Analysis

---> Gathering the Data Generating possible Solutions. ---- > Hypothesis testing. Choose methods to test your

hypothesis Analyzing the Solutions. ------> Examining the Data for Information

Selecting the best Solution(s). ------------ >Create a plan to attack the problem,recommendations, suggestions

Planning the next course of action (Next Steps) ---------------> Create goals, if needed an IEP, etc.

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testing vs. assessment

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