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The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA)iStatement on the Use of Secure Psychological Tests in the Education of Graduate and Undergraduate Psychology Students The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA) encourages the
education of undergraduate and graduate psychology students in the appropriate
and ethical use of psychological tests and assessment instruments. Such
education must be consistent with the Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing, (AERA/APA/NCME, 1999) and the Ethical Principles
of Psychologists, (APA, 1992) as well as guidelines and procedures for test
use and security provided by test developers and publishers ii.
The purpose of this
statement is to address issues of test security in the context of teaching and
training of students in psychology. It is intended to guide professionals who
use secure psychological tests in education only with regard to those areas in
which they can exercise control of access to test materials. Security of Test Materials It should be recognized that certain tests used by psychologists and related
professionals may suffer irreparable harm to their validity if their items,
scoring keys or protocols, and other materials are publicly disclosed. Examples
include tests such as graduate school admission or college entrance
examinations, or tests of cognitive function. Access to psychological test
materials (e.g., test booklets, protocols, administration manuals, scoring keys)
should be granted only to qualified psychologists or other professionals who use
the material in their teaching, research, or clinical practice. Students who use
the materials in the course of their research or training should be directly
supervised by a psychologist or other appropriate supervisor. For example, when
testing materials are stored in a library, access should be limited to
appropriate personnel and to students in training. Test materials sold for the
purposes of student training must not be available to the casual purchaser in
college and university bookstores. Preferably, such materials should be
distributed through an arranged venue such as from the test publisher directly.
University or college psychology or other administrative departments and
professors must store all psychological test materials under conditions that
prevent access by unauthorized individuals. Psychologists who maintain test
materials for teaching or research purposes should be aware of the importance of
protecting such documents, and should be familiar with the issues surrounding
their security. Testing Demonstrations It is entirely appropriate to demonstrate testing materials and procedures in
undergraduate courses such as general psychology or personality theory. In this
situation, simulated test items should be used to demonstrate any given device
or technique. For example, instructors may make their own inkblots or invent
"similarities" items to illustrate the content, administration, or
scoring of a test. Alternatively, a film or video may be used to illustrate
administration, without revealing or compromising the security of the stimulus
materials or scoring. When students are administered a psychological test for
demonstration purposes in an upper division undergraduate or graduate course,
the instructor has the same responsibilities as though the test were
administered for its regularly-intended purpose. That is, the instructor becomes
the test user and the student the test-taker. The instructor must have the
necessary training to administer, score, and interpret the test on an individual
or group basis, as appropriate. Although the administration, scoring and
interpretation will serve a pedagogical function, they must be carried out in a
manner consistent with the Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing. In addition, students should be informed that a demonstration of a
test for training purposes may have the effect of invalidating the test in the
event that the students would take the test in the future, with the tests
intended purpose Teaching Students to Administer and Score Tests Before students administer any kind of psychological test, they should have
completed appropriate prerequisite coursework in tests and measurements,
statistics, and psychometrics, and they should be thoroughly trained in the
proper administration of the specific test being used. It is advisable that the
students be supervised in practice and initial administrations, as well as in
scoring of responses and deriving interpretations. It is inappropriate for
students to administer tests in an environment that does not allow for a
controlled, private, and standardized presentation. Communicating the results of
a test to a test-taker is a serious matter in any circumstance. Results or
interpretations should be reported by students only under the supervision of a
qualified faculty member or supervisor. Students should be thoroughly trained in
appropriate language and procedures to report all types and levels of scores. Using Tests in Research The use of tests in psychological research is bound by the ethics that apply to research with human participants. Issues such as the necessity of informed consent, the nature and extent of debriefing, including feedback of test results, and the disguised use of test materials, must be addressed on a case-by-case basis with due attention to the protection of the participants and the integrity of the test. Unauthorized modification of a published or unpublished test for a research project is a violation of the publisher’s or author’s copyright, and is thus both unethical and illegal. As with tests used in training, when tests are used by students in their research, the faculty supervisor bears the responsibility for assuring appropriate testing practices. Security of test materials, confidentiality of records, standardized administration, and appropriate methods of score reporting must be maintained as in any other testing situation. |