Ed Cruz, Melissa Guzman, Nicole Murph, Gabriela Pelaez Ethical Issues in Psychological Assessment in School Settings Linda K. Knauss Ed Cruz, Melissa Guzman, Nicole Murph, Gabriela Pelaez Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Most Frequent Ethical Issues Psychologists Confront 1) Process of parental consent and involvement. 2) Obligation to select nonbiased test instruments and use them in a way that is not racially or culturally biased. 3) Appropriate administration and interpretation of projective tests in school settings. 4) Use of computerized psychological assessment. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Where Ethical Dilemmas Arise From Dilemmas arise from needs. Psychologists need to aware of ethical standards. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Informed Consent “Hot” Ethical Issue Definition: Consent requires “affirmative permission before actions can be taken” (Knauss, 2001). Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Informed Consent (Con’t) Elements of Informed Consent Agreements Must be presented in a clear and understandable manner to both the student & parent. Reason for the test administration. tests and evaluations procedures to be used. How assessment scores will be used. Who will have access to the results. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Informed Consent (Con’t) Written informed consent must be obtained from the student’s parents, guardian or the student (if he or she has already reached ‘legal’ age). Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Informed Consent For students who have an educational disability: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). School mediation. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Parents & Informed Consent Initial contact with parents & the school is crucial. Conveying results to the parents is extremely important. Parents, guardians and students must share in the autonomy of making treatment decisions. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Nondiscriminatory Assessment Definition—Larry P. V Riles. Psychologists are obligated to be culturally sensitive in administering tests to pupils. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Nondiscriminatory Assessment Impact of assessing pupils without utilizing their native language. Impact of discrepancies caused by translators. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Nondiscriminatory Assessment Effects of cultural factors on test performance. What can a psychologist do to obtain valid results of the pupil? Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Nondiscriminatory Assessment The need to separate personality issues from language issues. Ensure pupil’s ability to read prior to test administration. Is ‘language’ the root of the pupil’s academic problems? Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Nondiscriminatory Assessment The importance of carefully selecting testing instruments: test bias fair and appropriate instruments Implications of using biased tests Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Factors that determine the use of Projective Assessment No definite answer about using projective tests for evaluating students. What will they gain from the projective test? Questioning the appropriateness of the testing instrument. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Projective Personality Assessment A problem with informed consent: Responding to questions Questions in the informed consent procedure Confidentiality Access of school records Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Projective Personality Assessment Concern with “unwarranted invasion of privacy” in projective testing. Questions in projective testing Student responses Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Projective Personality Assessment Other concerns: Examiner competence Adequate training Supervised experience competent of emotional issues Test validity Determining validity and its usefulness Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Computerized Psychological Testing Ethical issues in the use of computerized testing: accountability for the psychological assessment. appropriate application, interpretation, and use of assessment instruments. disparity between automated report and the psychologist’s clinical impression of the client. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Computerized Psychological Testing Individuality of computer report v. hand written report. should not be use to extend the boundaries of one’s competence Test administration procedures and supervision of assistants. familiarity with the instruments to be used. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Computerized Psychological Testing Questions regarding the validity of computer-assisted assessment lack of demonstrated validity for the printed interpretations they generate. test developer should establish validity and reliability of the test and resulting interpretations should be done with a professional review. A school psychologist should review and edit the narrative report done by the computer, so that it is specific to the individual who was tested. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Computerized Psychological Testing Computer programs are not a substitute for supervision because they are not designed to teach testing skills to the individual who uses these programs. must be used in conjunction with the clinical judgment of well-trained professionals psychologists are responsible in determining whether the test results are valid for a particular individual Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Our Thoughts What we found particularly interesting: -This article was not argumentative. sending a note home is not informed consent. inadequate training of psychologists in the use of projective techniques. interns sign computer generated reports and file them in a students permanent record. Problems with the article the author did not make a strong case on how to use non-bias in testing. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Thank You for your time Any questions, comments or concerns? Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Discussion The author discussed a lot about the creditability of school psychologists, but what do you think about the creditability of teachers, since they are the first to interact with the students (i.e. being trained in recognizing students who may have an educational disability)? Which ethical issue do you feel contributes the most to inaccurate assessment? Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.

Reference Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241. Knauss, L.K. (2001). Ethical issues in psychological assessment in school settings. Journal of Personality Assessment 77(2), 231-241.