Psychological Assessment
Psychological Testing and History
Source: Cohen & Swerdlik (2018), Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018)
Testing and Assessment Assessor is the key to the process of selecting
o 1905: Alfred Binet published a test designed to tests and/or other tools of evaluation
help place Paris school children in appropriate Requires an educated selection of tools of
classes evaluation, skill in evaluation, and thoughtful
o Testing – refer to everythingꟷfrom organization and integration of data
administration of test to interpretation of the test Entails logical problem-solving that brings to bear
scores many sources of data assigned to answer the
▪ Once used to describe the group of screening referral question
individuals of thousands of military recruits o Test – measuring device or procedure
o Psychological Assessment – gathering and o Psychological Test – device or procedure
integration of psychology-related data for the designed to measure variables related to
purpose of making psychological evaluation psychology
▪ Educational – evaluate abilities and skills ▪ Content – subject matter
relevant in school context ▪ Format – form, plan, structure,
▪ Retrospective – draw conclusions about arrangement, layout
psychological aspects of a person as they ▪ Item – a specific stimulus to which a person
existed at some point in time prior to the responds overtly and this response is being
assessment scored or evaluated
▪ Remote – subject is not in physical proximity ▪ Administration Procedures – one-to-one
to the person conducting the evaluation basis or group administration
▪ Ecological Momentary – “in the moment” ▪ Score – code or summary of statement,
evaluation of specific problems and related usually but not necessarily numerical in
cognitive and behavioral variables at the very nature, but reflects an evaluation of
time and place that they occur performance on a test
▪ Collaborative – the assessor and assesee ▪ Scoring – the process of assigning scores to
may work as “partners” from initial contact performances
through final feedback ▪ Cut-Score – reference point derived by
▪ Therapeutic – therapeutic self-discovery and judgement and used to divide a set of data
new understanding are encouraged into two or more classification
▪ Dynamic – describe interactive approach to ▪ Psychometric Soundness – technical quality
psychological assessment that usually ▪ Psychometrics – science of psychological
follows the model: evaluation > intervention measurement
of some sort > evaluation ▪ Psychometrist or Psychometrician – refer to
o Psychological Testing – process of measuring professional who uses, analyzes, and
psychology-related variables by means of interprets psychological data
devices or procedures designed to obtain a o Achievement Test – measurement of the
sample of behavior previous learning
Testing o Aptitude – refers to the potential for learning or
Usually numerical in nature acquiring a specific skill
Could be individual or by group in administration o Intelligence – refers to a person’s general
Test administrators can be interchangeable potential to solve problems, adapt to changing
without affecting the evaluation environments, abstract thinking, and profit from
Requires technician-like skills in terms of experience
administration and scoring o Human Ability – considerable overlap of
Yield a test score or a series of test score achievement, aptitude, and intelligence test
Assessment o Structured Personality tests – provide
Answers the referral question through the use of statement, usually self-report, and require the
different tools of evaluation subject to choose between two or more
Administered individually alternative responses
Psychological Testing and History
Source: Cohen & Swerdlik (2018), Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018)
Testing and Assessment Assessor is the key to the process of selecting
o 1905: Alfred Binet published a test designed to tests and/or other tools of evaluation
help place Paris school children in appropriate Requires an educated selection of tools of
classes evaluation, skill in evaluation, and thoughtful
o Testing – refer to everythingꟷfrom organization and integration of data
administration of test to interpretation of the test Entails logical problem-solving that brings to bear
scores many sources of data assigned to answer the
▪ Once used to describe the group of screening referral question
individuals of thousands of military recruits o Test – measuring device or procedure
o Psychological Assessment – gathering and o Psychological Test – device or procedure
integration of psychology-related data for the designed to measure variables related to
purpose of making psychological evaluation psychology
▪ Educational – evaluate abilities and skills ▪ Content – subject matter
relevant in school context ▪ Format – form, plan, structure,
▪ Retrospective – draw conclusions about arrangement, layout
psychological aspects of a person as they ▪ Item – a specific stimulus to which a person
existed at some point in time prior to the responds overtly and this response is being
assessment scored or evaluated
▪ Remote – subject is not in physical proximity ▪ Administration Procedures – one-to-one
to the person conducting the evaluation basis or group administration
▪ Ecological Momentary – “in the moment” ▪ Score – code or summary of statement,
evaluation of specific problems and related usually but not necessarily numerical in
cognitive and behavioral variables at the very nature, but reflects an evaluation of
time and place that they occur performance on a test
▪ Collaborative – the assessor and assesee ▪ Scoring – the process of assigning scores to
may work as “partners” from initial contact performances
through final feedback ▪ Cut-Score – reference point derived by
▪ Therapeutic – therapeutic self-discovery and judgement and used to divide a set of data
new understanding are encouraged into two or more classification
▪ Dynamic – describe interactive approach to ▪ Psychometric Soundness – technical quality
psychological assessment that usually ▪ Psychometrics – science of psychological
follows the model: evaluation > intervention measurement
of some sort > evaluation ▪ Psychometrist or Psychometrician – refer to
o Psychological Testing – process of measuring professional who uses, analyzes, and
psychology-related variables by means of interprets psychological data
devices or procedures designed to obtain a o Achievement Test – measurement of the
sample of behavior previous learning
Testing o Aptitude – refers to the potential for learning or
Usually numerical in nature acquiring a specific skill
Could be individual or by group in administration o Intelligence – refers to a person’s general
Test administrators can be interchangeable potential to solve problems, adapt to changing
without affecting the evaluation environments, abstract thinking, and profit from
Requires technician-like skills in terms of experience
administration and scoring o Human Ability – considerable overlap of
Yield a test score or a series of test score achievement, aptitude, and intelligence test
Assessment o Structured Personality tests – provide
Answers the referral question through the use of statement, usually self-report, and require the
different tools of evaluation subject to choose between two or more
Administered individually alternative responses
