External Influences on Test Results - Essay Example

Assignment External Influences (Examiner/Environment) On Test Results The effect of racial discrimination in test administration has been discussedon numerous occasions (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004). The race of the test administrator has a considerable influence on the result of any psychological test (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004). Some people feel that they should not be tested by anyone except a member of their own race (Sattler, 1970). For example, a number of individuals argue that African-American score less on tests when tested by white test administrators as compared to examiners of their own race (Sattler, 1970). In order to make the results more valid and reliable, the examiners should be trained in a way that he or she overcomes his or her biasness towards races other than his or her own (Sattler, 1970). Similarly, the test administration and scoring procedures should be followed strictly so that there is no room for any subjectivity in the results (Sattler, 1970). Examinee Behaviors/Conditions That May Influence Test Results An examinee factor that may influence the test results is the difference in the linguistics background of the examinee (Domino & Domino, 2006). The standards lay emphasis on the fact that a few tests are unsuitable for certain individuals whose familiarity with the language is doubtful (Lam, 1993). For example, the reliability and validity of tests for those examinees who do not speak English is suspect (Domino & Domino, 2006). Translating tests is not an easy task and it cannot be taken for granted that the validity and reliability of the translation are similar to the English version of the test (Lam, 1993). Thus, to overcome this hurdle, the test should be provided in the language, the examinee is most comfortable in and evidence for test comparability in different languages is obtainable (Lam, 1993). References Domino, G., & Domino, M. L. (2006). Psychological testing: an introduction. (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2004). Psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues. (6th ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Lam, T. C. M. (1993). Testability: a critical issue in testing language minority students with standardized achievement tests. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 26, 179-191. Sattler, J. M. (1970). Racial "experimenter effects" in experimentation, testing, interviewing, and psychotherapy. Psychological Bulletin, 21, 137-160. Assignment 2 Tina the external influence that you mentioned from the examiner or the environment that could influence the test results is rapport. You are right; this is one of the most significant aspects of test administration as determines the quality of the relationship between the examiner and the examinee (Naglieri & Goldstein, 2009). The examiner should develop rapport with the individual taking the test before actually starting with the testing process (Naglieri & Goldstein, 2009). Trying to establish an encouraging and comfortable environment is vital if the examinee test effort is to take place (Naglieri & Goldstein, 2009). On the other hand, Tina, you should keep in mind that the examiner should have a good rapport and nothing more because involvement beyond good rapport will risk the introduction of errors which would ultimately result in inaccurate results (Elliot & Dweck, 2005). Tina, you mentioned REM sleep as an important factor from the examinee’s behavior or conditions influencing test results. This is quite a unique factor because it basically deals with the examinee condition. You suggested that examinees that are given a chance of REM sleep stage before the administration tend to score better than examinees that did not get the opportunity of REM sleep (American Psychological Association, 2010). You are completely right as the examiner would not want tired examinees to appear for the test and increase the chance of errors (American Psychological Association, 2010). Similarly, keeping a close check on the REM sleep stages of the examinees can help the examiners determine whether any of the examinee is facing post traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) (Mellman, Bustamante, Fins, Pigeon, & Nolan, 2002). Thus, appearance of PSTD can also significantly influence test results and this can be determined by REM sleep stages (Mellman, Bustamante, Fins, Pigeon, & Nolan, 2002). References American Psychological Association (2010, August 16). Memory researchers explain latest findings on improving the mind, stopping memory loss. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010//08/100815 111456.htm Elliot, A. J. & Dweck, C. S. (2005). Handbook of competence and motivation. (1st ed.). United States of America: The Guilford Press Mellman, T. A., Bustamante, V., Fins, A. I., Pigeon, W. R., & Nolan, B. (2002). REM sleep and the early development of posttraumatic stress disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1696-1701. Retreived November 5, 2010, from http://ajp.psychiatry online.org/cgi/content/full/159/10/1696 Naglieri, J. A. & Goldstein, S. (2009). Practitioners guide to assessing intelligence and achievement. (1st ed.). United States of America: Wiley Assignment 3 OPTION 2: TEST FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) The verbal section of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) has become a regularly used assessment tool and research instrument with visually impaired children (Tillman, 1973). It is one of the most accepted intelligence test and was developed to determine the intelligence in children of ages ranging from 6.0 to 6.11 (Levinson & Folino, 1994). The verbal scale of WISC-III, which is used for visually impaired children, comprises of subtests; “information, similarities, arithmetic, vocabulary, comprehension and digit span” (Levinson & Folino, 1994). Children who are sightless or visually impaired generally score higher on Digit Span and Information (Tillman, 1973). The total IQ score of WISC-III has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The test was normalized by testing 2,200 children; 100 males and 100 females from 11 age groups extending from 6.0 to 16.11 years (Levinson & Folino, 1994). The reliability coefficient for the verbal section is .95 and the correlation between WISC-III and other Wechsler scales and Stanford-Binet Scale is quite good (Reza & Abas, 2003). The verbal scale of the Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) can be quite useful in my area of specialty; an educational setting. I can use this scale to assess the visually impaired children’s ability to pay attention to a question, deduce from learned information, rationalize through an answer, and communicate their thoughts out loud (Tillman, 1973). References Lavin, C. (1996). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition and the Stanford- Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition: a preliminary study of validity. Psychological Reports, 78, 491-496. Levinson, E. M., & Folino, L. (1994). Correlations of scores on the Gifted Evaluation Scale with those on WISC-III and Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test for students referred for gifted evaluation. Psychological Reports, 74, 419-424. Reza, J. A. & Abas, P. (2003). Reliability and validity of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III) in Iran. Journal of Medical Education, 2(2), 75-80. Retreived November 5, 2010, from http://www.journals.sbmu.ac.ir/index. php/jme/ article/viewFile/881/780 Tillman, M. H. (1973). Intelligence scales for the blind: a review with implications for research. Journal of School Psychology, 11(1), 80-87. Assignment 4 Robert, you chose option number two which asked us to describe a test that we might use in our specialty area for a person with visual, hearing or motor disability. For this purpose you chose the Leiter International Performance Scale – Revised (LIPS-R) because it is a completely nonverbal scale that can be administered without using verbal communication and it requires no verbal response from subjects (Roid & Miller, n.d.). You suggested the use of this test in your specialty area of Multisystematic Therapy (MST) with individuals who have speech problems and other related areas. This is an extremely good choice because the test aims to offer a nonverbal assessment of the overall intelligence by taking into consideration a wide variety of functions ranging from memory to nonverbal reasoning (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004). The test can be administered on different types of disabled individuals especially deaf and language disabled (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004. You can also use the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised as it qualifies as helpful tool in the clinical diagnosis in disabled children (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004. Furthermore, you can administer this on children as the simple game-like administration maintains the childs interest (Roid & Miller, n.d.). Even though, the test is quite appropriate for the purposes mentioned by you, but the test is generally used in clinical settings while your specialty area of Multisystematic Therapy (MST) is conducted in natural settings such as home, school and neighborhood (Multisystematic Therapy, n.d). Similarly, the examiner must be careful while interpreting the Leiter test results because the meaning of the test scores needs additional research to be carried out (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2004). References Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2004). Psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues. (6th ed.). United States of America: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Multisystematic Therapy. (n.d.). Multisystematic Therapy: an overview. Retrieved November 5, 2010, from http://www.mstservices.com/overview_a.pdf Roid, G. H. & Miller, L. J. (n.d.). Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised. MHS. Retreived November 5, 2010, from http://www.mhs.com/product.aspx?gr=edu&prod =leiterr&id=overview Assignment 5 The Stanford-Binet is among the forerunners of an adaptive test. The first edition (1916), second edition (1937) and the third edition (1960/1973) measured general intelligence in children (Becker, 2003). The fourth edition (1986) measured general intelligence along with “verbal reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, quantitative reasoning and short-term memory (Becker, 2003).” The last edition of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5) is a set of cognitive tests that assesses the strong points and limitations in the cognitive processes of students who may be evaluated for learning disabilities (Becker, 2003). The SB5 maintains previous predictions of rising learning disabilities in children starting from the age of four years (Becker, 2003). The Wechsler Intelligence Scales have two parts: the verbal part and the performance part which is nonverbal. Both the sections have separate scores. The verbal section, which is most frequently linked with academic achievement, entails the capacity to think in conceptual forms by means of language or geometric symbols. The performance section of the scale demonstrates the capacity to identify relationships and put together distinctive parts together rationally into a whole. The Wechsler Intelligence Scales is a set of three scales used to measure intelligence among individuals of different age ranges. The “Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS-III)” for grown-ups, the “Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – IV (WISC-IV)” for children with age ranging between 6 – 16 and “Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Revised (WPPSI-R)” for children age ranging between 4 – 6 ½ years (The Wechsler’s Intelligence Scales, n.d.). Initially, the main difference between Stanford-Binet and Wechsler scale was that Stanford-Binet test only evaluated children, while the Wechsler scale had an adult and child version. Furthermore, the Stanford-Binet test emphasized more on the verbal aspect as compared to Wechsler scale. But the newest version of the Stanford-Binet overcame these drawbacks. Different from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), which has been created for ages 6-16, the SB5, was created for individuals between 2 and 85 years of age. The SB5 results in three IQ scores; verbal, nonverbal and full scale scores. Each factor has a verbal and nonverbal scale. In order to accommodate the broad age range, there are six levels of the test. On the other hand, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, WISC, measures “verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed.” These measures are further classified into subtests (Silverman, n.d.). A criticism of intelligence tests is that they are discriminating on the basis of culture and language against individuals appearing for the test not belonging to a western, middle-class, English-speaking background. It is due to this, there are ethical issues when intelligence tests are used to categorize individuals based on their intelligence. Cultural bias takes place when an examinee might have an average or superior intellectual ability but performs badly on an intelligence test because some of the items were about things that were alien to his or her culture. Similarly, bias against language takes place when an examinee scores badly on intelligence tests because his or her first language differs from the language used in the test. Similarly, ethical considerations in intelligence testing especially Stanford-Binet, suggest that there is a great concern that intelligence tests might be wrongly label individuals (Methods of Measuring Intelligence, n.d.). References Becker, K. A. (2003). History of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales: content and psychometrics. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition, Assessment Service Bulletin Number 1. Retrieved November 6, 2010, from http://www.assess.nelson.com/pdf/sb5-asb1.pdf Methods of Measuring Intelligence.(n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2010, from http://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/197523/EDW_PSYCH_1_and_2SB_C18.pdf Silverman, L. K. (n.d.). An overview of issues in assessing gifted children. Retrieved November 6, 2010, from http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/PDF_files/assess.pdf The Wechsler’s Intelligence Scales. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2010, from http://www.iupui.edu/~flip/wechsler.html Read More