2003 Annual Reports for Boards and Committees

COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS AND ASSESSMENT 2003 ANNUAL REPORT

Achilles Bardos, Ph.D., Chair

The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA) held its meeting, June 28-29 2003. The following report summarizes the major issues that the Committee focused on over the past year.

Position Statements: CPTA continued revisions on two position statements and began revisions on a third statement in 2003:

(i) Observers in the Testing Situation: In 1999, CPTA noted that psychologists are frequently asked to allow others to observe testing sessions (e.g., in educational, clinical, and forensic settings). In response, members of CPTA developed a statement providing guidance to psychologists who are asked to allow observers into the testing situation. The statement focused primarily on lawyers observing clients and parents observing children during testing. CPTA believes that for reasons of test security, validity, and preservation of standardization, third parties should be discouraged from observing test administration. Members of CPTA are currently working with representatives of APA governance to clarify this position and to finalize the document.

(ii) Derivative Works as Psychological Tests: In response to increased interest by psychologists in issues concerning the validity of constructing tests for specific purposes by combining sections or questions from various tests, CPTA began drafting a statement on derivative works as psychological tests in 1999. Relevant governance groups reviewed drafts of the statement in spring and fall 2001. Recommended modifications were incorporated into the document shortly thereafter. Due to the change in the composition of the CPTA membership, members of the Committee suggested additional changes in summer 2003. A sub-group of the Committee is currently drafting a revised document, which will be reviewed by members of CPTA in spring 2004.

(iii) Disclosure of Test Data: Final provisions approved as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the revision of the APA Ethics Code prompted CPTA members to begin revision of the CPTA authored document on the disclosure of test data.

Task Force on Psychological Testing on the Internet: A condensed version of the report of the BSA-BPA Task Force on Psychological Testing on the Internet was accepted for publication in the American Psychologist (AP). It is anticipated that the report will appear in the AP in spring 2004. The entire 75 page report will also be available for downloading from the Science Directorate website shortly after the condensed version is published. Both versions of the report contain a review of current practices applied to Internet-based psychological testing and assessment. The reports explore the psychometric, ethical, legal, and practical implications of Internet based testing and assessment, and address issues concerning test validity, test administration, test protection, and test-taker confidentiality.

Convention Session: CPTA sponsored a symposium entitled, “Graduate Training in Psychological Assessment.” at the 2003 APA annual convention. Len Handler, PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Achilles Bardos, PhD, University of No. Colorado, and Larry James, PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville were the presenters. At the 2004 convention, CPTA will sponsor a symposium titled: Challenges for Psychological Testing and Assessment in Asia. The chair is Deniz S. Ones, PhD, University of Minnesota. The presenters are: Fanny Cheung, PhD, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Frederick Leong, PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The scheduled discussant is Barbara M. Byrne, PhD, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP): Members of CPTA nominated - Tom Kubiszyn, PhD to serve as one of the two APA representatives to the Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP). He replaces Nambury Raju, PhD whose term expired in December 2003. The other continuing representative to JCTP is Barbara Byrne, PhD.

CPTA-CEMA Collaboration: CPTA and members of the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA) finalized revisions to a bibliography on testing and assessment with ethnic minority populations. The bibliography will be posted on a web page devoted to the activities of CPTA scheduled to be available during early 2004.

Policy Issues: CPTA addressed a variety of emerging policy issues in 2003. Most notably, assessment provisions proposed as part of the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Head Start. Regarding IDEA, a subcommittee was formed to address the continued utilization of the

I.Q./achievement discrepancy model. In 2004, the same subcommittee is poised to address various issues regarding assessment as part of the reauthorization of Head Start.

During the June 2003 meeting, members of CPTA elected Jerry Sweet, Ph.D. as Chair for 2004.