Responsible Test Use: Case Studies for Assessing Human Behavior

Lorraine D. Eyde, Gary J. Robertson, and Samuel E. Krug

Responsible Test Use, an interdisciplinary reference source for promoting quality assurance in testing, consists of 85 training cases that illustrate a variety of problems related to test use. Twenty-eight of the cases are new for this second edition. Each case is drawn from real life and includes: a description of the incident; focus questions to encourage active involvement with issues raised by the case; an analysis of the problems posed plus possible ways of better handling the situation; and a listing of empirically-derived dimensions of test misuse that are likely to generalize to new testing situations. Cases developed for this edition represent three test settings that were not covered in the previous edition: computer and internet testing formats, forensic, and cross cultural-English language learners. In addition, revised cases cover counseling and training, education, employment, mental health, neuropsychology, and speech-language-hearing settings.

Foreword Kurt F. Geisinger Preface AcknowledgmentsPart I: Introduction Chapter 1: Overview Chapter 2: Elements and Competencies of Good Test UsePart II: Case Studies Section 1: Professional Development: Training, Responsibility, and Ethics Case 1. Personality Evaluation in a Scholarship Program Case 2. Assessing English Language Learners Case 3. This Gun for Hire Case 4. Incumbent Testing for Apprenticeship Positions Case 5. Assessing Police Officers Case 6. Practicing Within Areas of Competence Case 7. Untimely Timelines Case 8. The Untrained Interpreter Case 9. Use of Computer-Prepared Test Interpretations Case 10. The Star-Struck Clinician Case 11. Guilty for Lack of Evidence Case 12. Dealing With the Press Case 13. Buyer Beware Case 14. When Test Preparation Goes Too Far Case 15. The Uninformed Instructors Case 16. Passing the Buck Case 17. The Devil Is in the Details Case 18. The Slick Salesman Case 19. Personnel Screening for Emotional Stability Case 20. Disposition of Psychological Test Reports Case 21. Proper Interpretation of Test Results Requires Training Case 22. Expert Testimony Can Hurt You or Help You Case 23. A Sensitive School Psychologist Case 24. Dealing With Parental Concern About Ethnic Bias in Testing Case 25. Compromised TestSection 2: Test Selection Case 26. Using the Wrong Cutoff Score From the Wrong Test Case 27. Unguided Referral Case 28. Making Up Your Own Tests Case 29. Poor Choices and a Misdiagnosis Case 30. How Competent Do You Really Have to Be? Case 31. Misleading Public Statements Case 32. The Graduate School Admissions Conundrum Case 33. Insufficient Assessment Case 34. What Memory Problems? Case 35. I Can't Read, but I Know What's Going OnSection 3: Test Administration and Scoring Case 36. Standardized Administration Procedures Case 37. Intellectual Assessment of a Bilingual Student Case 38. The Incompetent Examiner Case 39. Using Substandard Testing Equipment Case 40. Unwanted Help Screens Case 41. Not Following Established Protocol Case 42. Testing Individuals Who Are Blind Case 43. Scoring Errors Plague High-Stakes Tests Case 44. Banking on the Test Case 45. A Case of Failure to Communicate Case 46. College Placement by Internet Case 47. Testing College-Bound Students With Physical DisabilitiesSection 4: Test Interpretation: Principles, Norms, and Psychometrics Case 48. Pitfalls in Comparing Scores on Old and New Editions of a Test Case 49. Are Observed Score Differences Trustworthy? Case 50. Special Children Need Special Tests Case 51. Are You Paranoid When People Really Are Against You? Case 52. It's a Man's Job Case 53. High School Rankings Rankle Educators Case 54. The Puzzling Chinese Personality Profiles Case 55. Responsible Interpretation of Test Score Differences Case 56. The Use and Misuse of Psychological Testing Case 57. The Lopsided High School Admissions Test Case 58. The Below-Average Sicilian Gifted Students Case 59. Date Matching Case 60. The Missing Personality Test Case 61. Don't Believe Everything You Hear Case 62. A Faculty Member in Distress Case 63. Test Results Without Interpretation Case 64. Confusing Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Test Scores Case 65. Evaluating Children With Hearing Impairments Case 66. The Questionable Cutoff Score Case 67. Immigrants Lose Financially Case 68. Comparing Proficiency Levels on State and National Assessments Case 69. An English Language Learner's Aptitude Test Anxiety Case 70. Inconsistencies Between Test Results and Behavior Case 71. Being Locked Up Makes A Difference Case 72. Using Out-of-Level Testing and Grade-Equivalent Scores for Instructional Planning Case 73. Assessing Similar Constructs in Different Cultures Case 74. Narrowing Educational and Vocational OptionsSection 5: Reporting Test Results to Clients and Administrative Policy Issues Case 75. Borderline Practice Case 76. What Does a Percentile Rank Mean? Case 77. Conducting Individual Assessments Case 78. The Well-Meaning Trainer Case 79. The Right Test in the Wrong Way Case 80. Computer Feedback in Career Counseling Case 81. A Case of Speedy Selection Case 82. Selecting Doctoral Students at Best State University Case 83. Inappropriate Choices Affect Referral for Treatment Case 84. Using Test Results to Promote a Prestigious Private School Case 85. Saying Too Much on the Basis of Too Little Appendices Contributors of Incidents and Casebook Reviewers Index of Cases Classified by Competency Index of Cases Classified by Element References Index About the Authors Key to Competencies and Elements