1. Competency 007 ASSESSMENT

2. Demonstrate knowledge of assessment principles and procedures, including the appropriate use of tests and test results. The beginning school counselor will:

3. Understand the characteristics, uses, advantages, and limitations of various types of informal and formal assessments

4. The beginning school counselor will: Apply knowledge of assessment-related issues (e.g. validity, reliability, bias, confidentiality, ethics)

5. The beginning school counselor will: Know how to interpret assessment results and to use information from varied sources to assess accurately students’ strengths and needs

6. The beginning school counselor will: Understand principles of testing and measurement that underlie group standardized testing programs

7. The beginning school counselor will: Know how to collaborate in the planning and evaluation of a group standardized testing program

8. The beginning school counselor will: Use assessment results and interpret information to work collaboratively with other professionals to plan for instruction and student development

9. The beginning school counselor will: Know how to communicate assessment results to school personnel, students, and students’ families

11. a. Are the test results reported in a way that facilitates the comparison of scores across all examinees? b. Does the test measure the knowledge or characteristics it was intended to measure? c. Are a variety of different questions types and formats included in the test? d. Would an individual be likely to perform approximately equally on two different test administrations?

12. a. Interest inventories are designed primarily to eliminate unsuitable career options. b. Interest inventories are particularly valuable for offering insights into the reasons for an individual’s specific responses. c. Interest inventories are most helpful when a person already has some idea of his or her future plans. d. Interest inventories are designed to measure an individual’s likes and dislikes rather than predict success in a particular occupation.

13. a. Ensuring that all assessment results are reported in a standardized form that allows the results to be easily compared b. Obtaining frequent and varied feedback on student progress c. Instituting a pass-fail grading system based on anecdotal records rather that on numerical or letter grades d. Carefully reviewing individual results on standardized tests in light of curriculum requirements

14. a. Ramon knows math about as well as a typical fourth grader at the end of the fifth month of school. b. Ramon’s performance on the test is about the same as that expected of a average fourth grader midway through the year. c. Ramon’s current math instruction should focus on content typically taught to fourth graders during the fifth month of school. d. Ramon has mastered about half the math content typically included in the fourth-grade curriculum.