Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals (7th Edition) - Hardcover

Drummond, Robert J.; Jones, Karyn D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0137152523 ISBN 13: 9780137152520

Publisher: Pearson, 2009

Synopsis

A proven classic in the field and the leading text in assessment for counselors, the newest edition of Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals has been completely updated and expanded to offer more thorough coverage of assessment methods. Among the new and expanded material is coverage of psychometric and statistical concepts; new and revised tests, inventories, and scales; relevant ethical and legal issues; contemporary measurement theories; and important multicultural issues.

 

In addition, the 17 chapters of this clear and user-friendly book provide guidance on how and when to use tests in different settings with different populations and information on basic procedures like test selection, administration, and reporting. Additional case studies have also been added throughout the text to help readers understand how to work with assessments and assessment results in real world situations.

About this title

About the Author

Karyn Dayle Jones is an associate professor in counselor education at the University of Central Florida. She has 20 years of experience in the counseling profession and has been a counselor educator for 14 years. Jones is coauthor of Introduction to the Profession of Counseling, has authored or coauthored several book chapters and refereed publications, and has made numerous professional presentations in the field of counseling and counselor education. Her primary areas of research are assessment and diagnosis. She is the past president of the Counseling Association for Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, a division of the American Counseling Association. Jones is a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and a National Certified Counselor, and she has worked as a counselor in mental health agencies, schools, and private practice.

 

The late Robert J. Drummond taught Counselor Education at the University of North Florida for twenty years before retiring. In addition to Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professional, he was the author of Career Counseling: A Developmental Approach (Prentice Hall, 1994) as well a number of book chapters and journal articles. He passed away in 2005.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this text is to help current and future workers in the helping professions become better consumers of psychological and educational tests and assessment procedures. First, users need to know the philosophical and ethical principles that relate to the field of testing. Second, they need to know when tests should be used and why. Third, they need to know how to locate and select the most valid and reliable instruments to aid in their decision making. Fourth, they need to know how to interpret and report test and assessment results. They need to be alert to the standards developed by various professional organizations and designed as guidelines for test authors and test users.

A systems approach was used to organize the knowledge base and the basic skills and competencies needed by test users. The book focuses on six components:

1. Models for test use and selection. The first chapter presents a framework for conceptualizing when to use tests and why. It includes some dimensions of the historical, philosophical, and social backgrounds of the testing movement. It also introduces accountability and the competency-based movement as well as the basic skills and competencies that test administrators and examiners must master.
2. Basic competencies needed. Chapters 2 through 5 identify the basic measurement, statistical, and research skills needed to select, administer, and interpret tests and assessment information.
3. Types of tests and assessment procedures. Chapters 6 through 13 introduce the different types of tests and assessment techniques that are commonly used in the helping professions. This portion of the text covers the assessment of learning and cognitive styles and the testing of intelligence, aptitude, interest, and personality. Assessment of the environment and development of the test taker are also discussed. The traditional pencil-and-paper tests and inventories are discussed, as are projective tests, situational tests, and the use of behavioral observation.
4. Alternate measurement and appraisal techniques. Chapter 14 focuses on the use of the computer in assessment.
5. Testing special populations. Chapters 15 and 16 focus on appraisal procedures and techniques, as well as issues for working with different special populations, such as clients with disabilities, multicultural groups, test clients with anxiety, and school systems.
6. Communicating test results. Chapter 17 presents strategies for communicating test results to clients, parents, and other professionals, and guidelines for writing test reports.

CHANGES IN THE FIFTH EDITION

For the fifth edition, content has been reorganized and chapters have been realigned, resulting in fewer chapters and a better fit for how many courses are taught. Key changes and content expansions include the following:

1. Discussions of validity (including construct validity) and reliability were expanded considerably in Chapter 4, Measurement Concepts.
2. The development of personality testing and additional content about the CPI and other personality tests was added to Chapter 10, Personality Testing.
3. Computer-adaptive and computer-assisted testing coverage was expanded and updated in the new Chapter 14,The Computer in Assessment.
4. New Chapter 16, Assessment Issues in Education, includes a new and current discussion of high-stakes testing, as well as content on test-taking skills and test anxiety.
5. The selection, administration, scoring, and interpreting of tests have been combined into Chapter 5, Process and Procedures of Testing.
6. The history of psychological and educational assessment has been moved up to Chapter 1 to provide the reader with more foundational knowledge early in the course.
7. Legal and ethical issues content was moved up to Chapter 2.
8. Gender, ethnicity, and special needs clients and specialized tests appropriate for these populations are presented in many chapters.
9. To reflect the trend of counselors and test developers moving away from objective, multiple-choice tests and toward developing competencies in writing, the chapters on achievement testing and alternate and authentic assessment techniques have been combined in Chapter 8.
10. The 1999 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AE1tA,APA, NCME, 1999) have been incorporated in this revised edition.

STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT

Each chapter has a similar format. A chapter overview is followed by learning objectives and a discussion of the topics related to those objectives. A brief summary is included in each chapter in addition to discussion questions, suggested activities, case studies, and additional readings. Publishers whose tests are cited in the text are listed in Appendix B, and key terms are defined in the glossary. Separate indexes are provided for authors, topics, and tests.

I have avoided evaluative critiques of most of the tests cited. I encourage readers to use the Buros home page (http://www.unl.edu/buros/) to locate the reviews that have been printed in the Mental Measurements Yearbooks, Test Critiques, or professional journals. Selection decisions should be situationally specific rather than generalized; many experts now advocate evaluating the consequential validity of the test. Myriad tests are available in almost all areas. The annotated lists included in the text are not exhaustive, nor do they represent all the exemplary tests in the field. Their purpose is to indicate the range and scope of tests in each area. The text attempts to encourage the reader's curiosity and interest and stimulate further investigation, research, reading, and experimentation to broaden knowledge, skills, and competencies in measurement and evaluation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0137152523
• ISBN 13: 9780137152520
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 496