Counseling Competency: Assessment
Understanding assessment takes the knowledge of knowing the historical and theoretical bases for assessment techniques, understanding the importance of reliability and validity, what results of assessments mean to a counselor, and the ethical principals of assessment. Assessing a student or client can take on many forms, one example may be a student taking a state test and another example could be observing human behavior. There are important components in developing assessments and important rules to follow to obtain the correct information and not to skew the answers to unfairly label a student or client. In helping a student or client, assessment should be based on what is appropriate to test
…show more content…
It is important the test is tailored to the student's ability and all background factors of the student be considered so the test is fair. Lastly, it is important the information from the test be used to help the student in the academic areas of concern so the student can reach their full potential. As a counselor I am responsible to make sure assessments are reliable and valid so the information taken from tests can be used to identify academic strengths or concerns in students and to help teachers to develop realistic goals for their students. Wells and Wollack believe test reliability has two components, the first belief states reliability provides a measure of the extent to which an examinees score reflects random measurement error (Wells and Wollack, 2003). The closest to the whole number 1.0 means the test is reliable, this is important to look at when examining a test because a reliable test will provide the best information needed from students. Wells and Wollack believe the second reason to be concerned with reliability is that it is a precursor to test validity, if test scores cannot be assigned consistently, it is impossible to conclude that the scores accurately measure the domain of interest (Wells and Wollack, 2003). The data from test scores must represent student knowledge and provide accurate information for instruction in the classroom. According to Wainer and Braun, test validity is
Content validity is achieved when the content of the assessment matches the educational objectives. Criterion validity is demonstrated by the ability of the test to relate to external requirements. Construct validity takes into account the educational variables, such as the native language of the students, to predict the test outcomes. Reliable assessments have consistent results; Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly.
In my point of view assessment is a testing tool by which a teacher or assessor can use to detect the outcomes of teaching, learning or assessment process with the learners by
Questioning is a method of testing knowledge by asking the learner a series of questions related to the performance criteria. It is important that the assessor plans the questions beforehand, ensuring that open questions are used, and identifies the means of recording them, whether it be written; voice recorded or videoed. Questioning can be a very useful assessment method used alongside other methods. With observation, in particular, ‘what if’ questions can be used for evidence that might be hard to obtain, for example.
Assessment is a valuable tool to measure students learning and achievement. It is an essential element for teacher to reflect on what and how they teach. To assess students is to collect evidence of their learning. Teachers use the information to modify their lesson plans and adjust their instructional methods; students need feedback on their performance to concentrate on their vulnerable areas. Assessment is necessary for parents to reinforce their children strength and assist them where extra attention is required. The data collected will inform school
Assessments are the process of evaluating an individual’s learning. They involve generating and collecting evidence of a learner’s attainment of knowledge and skills and judging that evidence against defined standards. Formative Assessments (quizzes and practical tests) are used to
standardized tests is that they lack a level of comprehension and are incapable of succeeding in the educational system. This belief is especially prevalent in regards to high stakes tests such as college entrance and high school graduation exams because the focus is on the test score. The perception is that these scores are the sole indicator of the student’s knowledge of a subject and their ability to succeed at a higher level of education. Therefore,
When planing assessments you need to be aware of some key factors so you're assessment is relevant and fair to your students. Be aware of what your assessing weather final assessment or ongoing assessment, details which have to be perfect verses details that are not as important, be fully aware of what your looking for the students to achieve throughout assessment. Conformation of relevant policies, requirements and qualifications for your particular subject. You will need the knowledge of the topic you are assessing, you will also need knowledge of assessment procedures. This is so assessments are fair and there is consistency across all students which hold said qualification.
It is made up of four major parts: standards for particular applications, technical standards for test construction and evaluation, professional standards for test use, and standards for administrative procedures. A test that is technically adequate meets the criteria for validity, reliability, and norms. Validity is “the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences” that can be made from the test results. (American Psychological Association 9) Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure. Reliability is the extent to which the test results are dependable and consistent. Unrelated to the purpose of the test, errors in measurement can be viewed through inconsistencies in the performance, motivation, or interests of students being tested. Norms can be shown in age or grade equivalence, standard scores, and percentiles. They are generally shown in charts showing the performance groups of students who have taken the test. Norms show the comparison of the performance of new groups of test takers with the samples of students on whom the test was standardized. Goodwin and Driscoll (59-60) note that standardized tests have the following qualities: They provide a “systematic procedure for describing behaviors, whether in terms of numbers or categories.” They have an established format and set materials. Also, they present the same tasks and
2. GIVING FEEDBACK = Verbal feedback, Written Feedback.{Try to be positive, Don’t be negative candidates find this demoralising}
In assessment, validity and reliability are two major factors. “Validity is the soundness of your interpretations and uses of students’ assessment results” (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p. 38). This basically means, does the assessment measure what it was intended to measure? Validity has four principles: interpretations, uses, values, and consequences. An example of a valid assessment is the SAT. The SAT is valid, because it provides the assessor evidence to make appropriate interpretations and uses. The assessor is able to make meaningful judgments and actions based on the scores of the SAT (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p. 38-40). The other important factor is reliability. “Reliability is the degree to which students’ results remain consistent over replications of assessment procedure” (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p.67). For example, if a test is valid, the student should score consistently with no intervention. However, if a treatment or invention occurs, the score should be altered. An
First, I’ll discuss Dr. Pieper’s introduction to assessment and her qualifications relative to the field. Second, I’ll describe current approaches for course, program, and institutional assessment at NAU. My conclusion imparts her advice and impact on assessment.
The first thing comes to mind when thinking of terms reliability, and validity, is the state’s End of Grade (EOG) test. The test items in the EOG are expected to be valid and reliable. The test items are considered valid if they are aligned to the content of the curriculum standards, and are appropriate for students within a particular grade level. Equally, the test items are reliable if for example, a group of qualified scorers were to get the same achievement results upon scoring repeated samplings of the test.
Counselors will often use a symptom checklist to get a sense of their client’s mental health status and to determine if their presenting issues are within the scope of the counselor's practice. If the counselor feels that they are not component to proceed then the counselor may refer the client to another specialist for treatment. Furthermore, counselors can also use personality and psychological assessments to learn more about the attributes, values, beliefs, behaviors, and preferences of their clients in order to help their clients more effectively. Through the use of assessment, counselors are able to get a sense of what developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders their client may be experiencing. Therefore, it is important for counselors to have the adequate training in test administration
Reliability and validity are the most fundamental attributes that give strength and value to an assessment, although an assessment can be reliable without being valid, it cannot be valid if it is not reliable when considering a test's reliability and validity, it must be consistent, replicable, and dependable (Zunker, 2016). I found that after I took the assessment the results was that I am a thorough, responsible, dependable person and whatever I put my mind to, I can accomplish anything.
Assessments are important and stand to be a useful tool for multiple reasons. Primarily, it helps educators make decisions about what to teach students. Tests provide information about what