Psychological Testing

This article focuses on psychological tests and how they are used for children and adults. The different types of psychological tests and descriptions of some of the more commonly used psychological assessments are also included, as well as reasons for testing and general precautions when administering the tests and discussing results with stakeholders.

Overview

Psychological tests are implemented in order to evaluate cognitive and emotional performance in people of all ages. The exams can be administered via written, visual, or verbal assessments. The results can be a valuable means of calculating the different mental capacities, skills, and abilities, as well as the achievement capabilities of personality and neurological functioning. Psychological testing can help others understand personality and how it affects psychological disorders.

Types of Personality Assessment

There are multiple different types of psychological assessments.

Projective Tests

Among personality tests are projective tests, which try to assess one’s persona around the idea that people will project their own unconscious opinions and thoughts into ambiguous circumstances and situations. The Rorschach Test, developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach, is the best known example of this type of psychological assessment. Rorschach showed a selection of standardized inkblots to his patients and asked them what they thought. The Thematic Apperception Test was developed by American psychologist Henry Murray. He used a normal series of photographs and asked his patients to tell a story based on what they saw and then later analyzed each story to try to determine attitudes and patterns of reaction.

Questionnaire Based Tests

Other personality tests use questionnaires to determine personality. These types of assessments are generally answered with true, false, or cannot determine, which makes them objective tests. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a commonly used objective test, was created in 1942 to try to define what constituted a "normal" personality and to try to detect personality deviances. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory produces profiles that are used to classify subjects for psychological disorders like schizophrenia, sociopathy, depression and hysteria and is useful in determining mental illness. However, the inventory is not as useful in diagnosing specific mental disorders.

Behavioral Assessments

Behavioral assessments also fall into the broad category of psychological testing. With behavioral assessment, a psychologist observes an individual's actions in their natural setting. Using a checklist system, behavioral assessments can be used by both parents and teachers to evaluate children's behavior at home and in the classroom to assist the psychologist.

Achievement & Intelligence Tests

Achievement and intelligence tests fall under the auspices of psychological testing. Achievement and aptitude tests can sometimes be mistaken for intelligence tests because they all have commonalities, and the format is similar. While intelligence tests sample behavior already learned in an attempt to predict future learning, achievement tests attempt to measure what children already know about specific content areas such as mathematics and English, and aptitude tests are used to try to predict future performance. Schools can use aptitude and achievement exams in order to evaluate students' capabilities with their accomplishments to see if there is any disconnect. Schools may also use educational aptitude and achievement tests for older students to determine if students have special talents, any specific vocational interests, or superior motor skills needed for certain careers. These help guide students who are undecided about what they would like to do when they finish high school.

Types of Psychological Tests

Personality Tests

Personality tests can be administered to diagnose psychopathology and to help determine personality strengths and weaknesses. Personality tests usually assess the attitudes and emotions that make up an individual’s personality, such as hypochondria, depression, hysteria, paranoia, and social introversion. There are many personality assessments available, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, which can be used to examine students for psychopathologies or emotional instability. The Rorschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Apperception Test are examples of projective personality assessments in which students' responses can give the examiner insight into their thought processes and personality traits.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is intended to be used with students aged eighteen and older who can read at or beyond the sixth grade level. The assessment can be given by using pencils and paper, audiocassette or CD recording, or via computer and is available in English, Spanish, and French. It consists of 567 true/false items and can take anywhere from 60-90 minutes to complete. However, a shortened version of the assessment of only the first 370 items may be given. The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory is intended to be used with students aged eighteen and older who can read at or beyond the eighth grade level. The assessment can be administered in a paper-and-pencil format, audiocassette or CD recording, or via computer. It is much shorter than the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and takes only 25-30 minutes to complete with 175 true/false items.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

The Rorschach Inkblot Test assesses basic personality structure using ten inkblot plates. It can be used with students who are at least five years of age. Since reading is not required to take the assessment, barriers associated with reading and comprehensions are overcome. There is no set time for completing the assessment. The Thematic Apperception Test uses ten picture cards to stimulate stories or descriptions and can be administered in an individual or group setting. It may also be self-administered. There are specific cards for boys and girls, and they can respond either orally or in writing. The Thematic Apperception Test is intended for individuals who are ten years of age or older, and there is no set time for completing the assessment.

Neuropsychological Tests

Neuropsychological tests help evaluate students' level of performance and can also point out areas of mental inadequacy. These assessments can also help to screen students for delays in development or learning disabilities. There is quite a bit of overlap with personality and achievement and ability assessments because neuropsychological tests can stretch over many types of mental ailments, including those of simple motor functions to reasoning and problem solving skills. In objective neuropsychological examinations, quantitative results are compared with normative standards, including data from groups of normal functioning people and people who have different types of brain impairments. The norms can be based on age and educational achievement. Qualitative assessment of neuropsychological tests can provide a look at the learning processes a student may use. The key to effective neuropsychological assessment is analyzing a pattern of performance among a large number of tests, which means a combination of objective scores, behavioral process observations, and a pattern of results is necessary for an accurate assessment. Some examples of neuropsychological tests are the Beck Depression or Anxiety Scales, the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, the California Verbal Learning Test, the Continuous Performance Test, the Halstead Category Test, the Kaufman Short Neuropsychological Assessment, the Memory Assessment Scales, and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test.

Beck Depression or Anxiety Scales

The Beck Depression or Anxiety Scales, which is used to assess symptoms related to depression or anxiety, is intended for individuals at least thirteen years of age who have at least a fifth grade reading level and takes approximately ten minutes to complete. The Beck Youth Inventories are designed for children age seven through fourteen. The five self-report inventories assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, disruptive behavior, and self-concept. The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, which evaluates visual-perceptual and visual-motor functioning, is intended for individuals at least three years of age and takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. No reading is required. The California Verbal Learning Test, which evaluates verbal learning, organization, and memory, is for children 5 through 16 years of age and takes 15-20 minutes to complete. The Continuous Performance Test, which assesses sustained attention and freedom from distractibility, is intended for individuals at least six years of age and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Halstead Category Test

The Halstead Category Test, which assesses flexibility of thinking and openness to learning, is designed for individuals at least 15 years old and takes 30-60 minutes to complete. The Kaufman Short Neuropsychological Assessment, which measures broad cognitive functions in students with intellectual disabilities, is intended for individuals at least 11 years of age and takes 30 minutes to complete. Memory Assessment Scales, which assess short-term, verbal, and visual memory, is for individuals at least 18 years old and takes 40-45 minutes to complete. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test, which is used to detect cognitive impairment, is for children ages 8-17 years old and takes 5 minutes to complete.

Achievement, Ability, & Intelligence Tests

Achievement, ability, and intelligence tests are used to evaluate the level of intelligence, functioning, and cognitive ability in students. The results are used to place students in appropriate schools and grade levels that will accommodate their needs and ability levels. Giftedness can also be identified through these testing systems. Intelligence tests can be used with older students to help them choose a vocational ability that could further determine a career path. The majority of achievement and ability tests are standard across a broad range, and the norms are set by administering the test to a large representative sample. Individual intelligence tests are generally comprised of open-ended questions and must be administered by a trained psychologist or testing professional who is capable of interpreting the responses as well as the behavior of the test taker during the testing session and in the classroom. Individual intelligence tests can be used for the purpose of identifying learning disabilities, usually in conjunction with other instruments. Group intelligence tests can come in several forms, but they often have a test booklet, multiple-choice questions, and scoring information that can be scanned for simplified, consistent calculation that eliminates human scoring error and can be done in a lot less time. Group intelligence tests tend to assess academic areas and can also include a cognitive measure. With their standardized nature, these tests can be administered by anyone who is familiar with proper testing techniques-teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, etc. While these tests should not be used for the purpose of finding learning disabilities, they can help determine whether additional testing should be undertaken and can also provide information on a child's academic history.

Commonly Used Achievement & Ability Tests

Three of the most commonly used achievement and ability tests are:

• The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children is a clinical instrument that assesses children between the ages of 3 and 18. This test can be used for determining if there are learning disabilities, and it can also aid in identifying giftedness.

• The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test is a standardized test that assesses children at least two years of age. This test can be used for school placement, determining if there are learning disabilities, and tracking intellectual development; and its 1986 revised edition was designed to be more representative of gender and race. The Stanford-Binet assesses verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, and sort-term memory.

• The Wechsler Intelligence Test

Wechsler Intelligence Scales are a series of standardized tests used to evaluate abilities in children. There are three scales of Wechsler tests: the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales. These tests can be used for school placement, determining if there are learning disabilities, and designating children as gifted. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence is designed to be used with children aged 4-6.5 years old. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales can be used for people aged 16-74.

Further Insights

Psychological tests are just part of a complete psychological assessment and they should not be used as the only – or even primary - instrument in every diagnosis. A thorough student background and review of any previous psychological assessments, as well as medical, educational, and other relevant records are necessary for assessing the results of a psychological evaluation. Cultural and linguistic barriers may also change the effectiveness of test performance and can skew test results. Such barriers must be considered when choosing the assessment and interpreting the answers given. For those students old enough to understand, test administrators also need to speak with the student being tested prior to beginning the assessment to explain the nature of the test and what it is intended to assess and thoroughly explain the testing instructions, such as how much time is allotted for each section, subtest, and/or the entire test; if there are any penalties for incorrect responses, and if it is permissible to ask the test administrator to explain something they do not understand while they are taking the assessment. Students should also be informed about the confidentiality of the results and whether or not the students' parents, teachers, school administrators, or other potentially interested parties will be given the results. After the assessment has been completed and evaluated, the test administrator should go over the assessment results with the student, reminding the student what the assessment was supposed to evaluate, discussing the precision of the evaluation - including any errors that may be found as well as what individual scores mean for certain children of different backgrounds and cultures.

It is also important that when discussing the assessment results with students, parents, and other concerned parties that the test administrator refrain from using words or educational/psychological jargon that is beyond the students' and parents' scope of understanding. The same is true for any written reports that may be seen by anyone outside the profession. If the reports are generated from a program associated with the assessment, the test administrator needs to be able to translate the information in a way that makes it easily understandable.

Another important component of the psychological testing process is to help parents and students understand why these assessments are necessary and the good that they can accomplish. Some parents and older students may be concerned that non-standardized, individualized testing will label them. While this may certainly be true, such labeling is not necessarily a bad thing because accurate labeling can help focus treatment for the student and help parents and teachers effectively deal with whatever the diagnosis may be. For example, if a child's inattention in school is due to problems the child is having in learning to read-perhaps dyslexia-as opposed to an attention disorder, then the appropriate treatment is working with a specialist who can help the child deal with dyslexia instead of medicating the child for an attention deficit disorder. It is also important that when test administrators speak with both students and parents that they make sure that it is completely understood that testing provides information about a student at a particular point in time and it is not necessarily predictive of what the student is ultimately capable of doing or achieving.

It is important that only people who are trained in appropriate test administration procedures conduct testing and that only school psychiatrists and school psychologists should administer any nonstandardized, individual psychological tests. Only those professionals with expertise in the appropriate subject area should score and interpret psychological tests. These professionals have had a minimum of master's-level courses on such subjects as tests and measurements and testing and have had instruction and supervised practice in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of a variety of measures of testing and assessments. In addition, they have familiarity with the psychometric characteristics of major standardized measures of assessment, which should help them decide which instruments are appropriate to use, depending on each situation and student's characteristics.

Terms & Concepts

Age- & Grade-Equivalent Scores: Defined as estimates that describe each student’s testing score as it relates to the grade-level or age-group that the student is functioning at.

Assessment: The gathering of information for making decisions about individuals, groups, programs, or processes.

Cognitive: Of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning as opposed to emotional processes.

Intelligence Testing: The method of using testing processes to estimate a student’s intellectual functioning. The tests include performance-related tasks and educational testing designed specifically to assess reasoning and cognitive skills.

Neuropsychological Testing: Any assessment that examines different levels of mental ability such as attention, language capacity, memory, and speed of recollection and processing.

Norms: A normative or average score for a certain age group.

Percentile: The percentage of students who are part of a similar age group and whose scores on any given exam or standardized test are under a score by a certain student. For example, a student in the 85th percentile performed better in comparison to 85% of those in the norm-ing sample.

Personality Testing: An assessment that attempts to describe aspects of a person's character that remain stable throughout their lifetime.

Psychopathology: An illness or disorder that is mental in nature, including personality disorders, depressive disorders, or schizophrenia, for example.

Standard Deviation: A measure of the distribution of scores around the average (mean). In a normal distribution, 95 percent of all samples will fall two standard deviations above and below the average.

Standardized Test: A standardized test is an exam that appoints a set guideline of instructions in order for the results to be assessed through comparisons to other control groups that were given the exam in similar circumstances.

Bibliography

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Suggested Reading

Kaplan, R. & Saccuzzo, D. (2004). Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications, and Issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Maddox, T. (2002). Tests: A Comprehensive Reference for Assessments in Psychology, Education, and Business. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, Inc.

Urbina, S. (2004). Essentials of Psychological Testing. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Wodrich, D. (1997). Children's Psychological Testing: A Guide for Nonpsychologists. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Company.