Competency in Psychological Assessment and Testing
Psychological assessment is considered an essential function of psychology and is defined as a complex, integrative and conceptual activity that is a central component of clinical psychology by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology's (NCSPP) Developmental Achievement Levels, one of the first competency-based models for training in professional psychology (Krishnamurthy et al., 2004). The competency of Assessment is comprised of four domains: 1) interviewing and relationships, 2) case formulation, 3) psychological testing, and 4) ethics and professionalism (See Table 1opens in new window, PDF, 92KB). Each domain has been operationalized in the Developmental Achievement Levels (DALs) document by the National Council of Schools and Programs in Professional Psychology (NCSPP, 2007) by specific tasks and outcomes across the dimensions of knowledge (K), skills (S), and attitudes (A). In addition to identifying specific competencies, the DALS document delineates levels of competency expected at the beginning of practicum, pre-doctoral internship and completion of doctorate degree (NCSPP, 2007). Trainers and trainees with disabilities would be well advised to review this document carefully when designing and/or requesting accommodations.
Similarly, APA more recently published competency benchmarks for the practice of professional psychology (Fouad et al., 2009) which includes psychological assessment as a functional competency, described by behavioral anchors for various trainee developmental levels. Under the assessment domain, the following skill proficiencies are included: Measurement and Psychometrics, Evaluation Methods, Application of Methods, and Diagnosis. These benchmarks may also be helpful for trainees and trainers in determining the particular proficiencies identified by APA for assessment competency across different level of training. (See Table 2opens in new window, PDF, 229KB)
Implicit Versus Explicit Skills
Historically, most testing procedures have been developed by and for examiners who do not have disabilities. For that reason, many of the skills needed to conduct assessments have not been explicitly defined beyond those provided during graduate training. This is unfortunate, because, in addition to the skills that are readily recognized as essential (e.g., background knowledge of tests and measurement, specific knowledge of and practice with assessment procedures), there are other essential skills that are implicit in the assessment process (e.g., psychomotor skills needed to handle materials, visual acuity needed to see an examinee’s physical responses, etc.). However, when trainees with disabilities participate in an assessment training sequence, it demands that implicit skills be made explicit. Once these skills are explicitly identified, the process of making a decision about whether a student with a disability has the requisite skills, or could acquire those skills by training or adaptation to the assessment process, becomes more objective, increasingly transparent, and more likely to enhance professional identity and competence.
Declarative Versus Operational Knowledge
Because assessment is considered an essential component of graduate training in psychology, all trainees with disabilities require training and this requires trainers to make some critical decisions about those aspects of assessment that will be taught; to whom and when. To this end, trainers must first distinguish between "declarative knowledge" (i.e., knowing about) and "operational knowledge" (i.e., doing) regarding assessment. In most cases, this depends on whether the student needs to know about a particular assessment procedure (i.e., have declarative knowledge of) versus demonstrate the use (i.e., have operational knowledge of) of that assessment tool. Second, trainers must identify the depth intended for the training activity. One valuable hierarchy to consider is exposure vs. experience vs. expertise. That is, some training is intended only to expose trainees to an idea or concept so they are simply aware of it. In contrast, experience implies that the student will have some “hands on” interaction with the instrument to increase their depth of understanding, but not enough training to independently conduct the assessment. Finally, training for expertise intends that the student be proficient in all aspects of the assessment so that they can use that tool independently as part of their professional practice. The level of training for particular assessments will vary as a function of the goals of the training program. For example, some School Psychology programs might merely expose trainees to projective techniques such as the Rorschach, but demand expertise for individually administered tests of intelligence and achievement. In contrast, a program with an emphasis in psychodynamic models might do the opposite (i.e., expose trainees to intelligence and achievement measures but demand expertise in the Rorschach). Some programs may provide experience-level training to help their trainees understand how to use assessment data provided by others. The levels of exposure, experience, and expertise comprise a continuum along which trainees move from declarative knowledge (knowing about assessment) to operational knowledge (doing assessment).With this in mind, trainers can better determine when and how to provide accommodations for training in assessment. Critically, the issue is not when to provide training, as all trainees with disabilities need training that meets the required competencies established by NCSPP (2007). Because declarative knowledge is a core competency in psychology, and is included in professional licensing exams, training programs are obligated to provide declarative knowledge regarding assessment—even when it is anticipated that graduates may not independently conduct psychological assessments (NCSPP, 2007).
Determining Reasonable Accommodations
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008 require the reasonable accommodation of qualified trainees with disabilities in their education and training settings. Although the ADA and ADAAA do not provide specific provisions for education, Title III mandates that “examinations and courses, which often serve as gateways to employment and career advancement, must be fully accessible (Benshoff, 1992; p. 129). While these Federal Acts do not specify whether test developers are required to provide alternative formats of test manuals and protocols, they direct training programs to provide trainees with equal access and reasonable accommodations. The ADA and ADAAA further stipulate that postsecondary institutions are responsible for providing and bearing the cost of reasonable accommodations to trainees with declared disabilities. A reasonable accommodation is defined as “any change in the work environment (or instructional setting) or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal opportunities (retrieved from Disability.govopens in new window). Thus, by definition, an accommodation does not compromise the essential elements of a course or curriculum, nor should it weaken academic standards or the integrity of the course or curriculum. Rather, accommodations provide alternative pathways to accomplish the course requirements by reducing or eliminating the effects of disability-related barriers.
Examples of reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to:
- Note taking services
- Text conversion to alternative accessible formats
- Captioning
- Interpreter services
- Adjusting time limits on tests
- Making facilities and/or programs readily accessible to and useable for individuals with disabilities
The need for accommodations is based on the individual's documentation of said disability and individual needs. A trainee may qualify for any or all of the following:
- Interpreters/C-Print captionists
- Note takers
- Extended time testing
- Use of assistive technology
- Readers
- Scribes
- Books on CD/ E-text
- Materials in alternate format
- Priority registration
- Peer mentor
- Preferential seating in the classroom
- Orientation to campus by an orientation and mobility specialist
Common academic accommodations made by a training program might include: extended time allowed for examinations, computer access for examinations, distraction-reduced testing locations, additional time for written assignments, classroom note-takers, books on tape or in electronic format, and sign language interpreters.
In academic training settings, disability accommodation requests are typically directed to and implemented by the University’s Students with Disabilities office. While offices vary in their administrative location within the university, one of their major responsibilities is to execute needed accommodations for trainees. As such, a trainer's first introduction to a student’s accommodation may be in the form of formal communication from the disability office advising of the approved equipment, technology, or procedural changes. Consequently, trainers and trainees would be well advised to initiate communications about accommodation needs and procedures as soon as a need arises. Often, trainees and training programs fail to do so and, as a result, make poorly informed decisions such as denying a student an accommodation or making unreasonable modifications before seeking outside expertise. This results in potentially irreversible ethical and legal violations.
When working with the university’s disability office, it is important to consider the purview of each entity. It will be the responsibility of the disability office to assure that disability law has been followed and student rights have not been violated. It will be the student’s responsibility to communicate their accommodation needs to the training program. Finally, it will be responsibility of the training program to maintain the integrity of the training requirements as related to the essential functions of the profession. Therefore, the training program reserves the right to deny any accommodation request it deems unreasonable or to be in violation of the essential functions of the job. Importantly, the program cannot do so prematurely.
In the case of assessment training, trainers and trainees must address several important issues before proposing accommodations. First, trainers must decide which aspects of the operational knowledge of assessment (i.e., using or doing) are essential to acquire. The assessment process is generally divided into four phases: planning, administration, scoring, and interpretation. Each of these phases influences and informs the next phase, and each phase demands different competencies. For example, planning and interpreting assessment results requires both depth and breadth of assessment expertise, whereas administration and scoring require a working knowledge of administration rules and an ability to accurately complete the requirements of scoring and the judgment to make subjective, interpretive decisions about scoring. Likewise, planning and interpretation draw more heavily on one’s ability to integrate the client’s presenting problem and psychosocial history with available testing instruments. Second, careful consideration of the student’s abilities and proficiencies is essential to deciding whether it is appropriate for the student to seek expertise in any or all of the four phases of assessment. The default assumption should be that trainees with disabilities are afforded opportunities to acquire the level of training (i.e., exposure, experience, expertise) provided to other members of the training program, contingent upon a realistic appraisal of what each assessment phase demands. The decision to train a student in each of the particular assessment phases varies as a function of both test demands and student ability. For example, some trainees with visual impairments may lack the visual acuity needed to administer and score tests requiring visual perception, manipulation of objects, and observation of examinee behavior (e.g., Block Design, Digit Symbol/Coding, Processing Speed subtests of the Wechsler Scales), but may have sufficient skills to master all four phases of other tests (e.g., the Vocabulary, Similarities, or Comprehension subtests of the Wechsler Scales). Thus, in many cases, case-by-case and subtest-by-subtest decisions are required.
As to the availability of testing materials in alternate formats, the Chafee Amendment to Copyright Law has bearing on addressing issues of the modification of training materials. In short, section 102(a) of the Copyright Act (Title 17 U.S.C.) provides copyright protection “in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” Section 121 of the law, often referred to as the “Chafee Amendment” exempts certain “authorized entities” from the rights of copyright owners with respect to reproducing and distributing copies of “previously-published non-dramatic works” in “specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.” Authorized entities are defined as “a nonprofit organization or governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities.” Although the Chafee Amendment to copyright law applies to educational materials such as textbooks, it specifically excludes test manuals and protocols. This requires training programs to often employ additional strategies to transform testing materials to meet the needs of their trainees with disabilities.
Determining Unreasonable Accommodations
Four principles guide the determination of unreasonable accommodation: (a) the degree to which other trainees in the program are afforded training in assessment, (b) the degree to which a student with a disability can independently conduct a given process or procedure (with appropriate training), (c) whether a student can independently conduct the procedure (even with training), and (d) the degree to which supports provided to the student retain or undermine the validity of the assessment.
Training programs should generally seek to provide the same training opportunities to all trainees. It is not appropriate to assume that trainees with disabilities require a different curriculum. Rather, decision-making should be driven by a desire to ensure access to the training afforded to other trainees. The APA Education Directorate, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation states in Domain B of the Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology (2007) that “…all students can acquire and demonstrate substantial understanding of and competence in…” several key areas. These include: “Diagnosing or defining problems through psychological assessment and measurement and formulating and implementing intervention strategies (including training in empirically supported procedures)” (Domain B, 3 [c]). Therefore, decisions to limit or deny access to assessment training must be made sparingly.
Training programs should provide training for experience and expertise in those aspects of assessment that a student is expected to perform independently, or with minimally invasive accommodations (e.g., computer administration or recording rather than a written record of examinee responses). Such experiences should be consistent with the goals of the program and training afforded other trainees. As noted in the preceding section, the decision about which assessment phases should be the focus of training may vary on a subtest-by-subtest, as well as student-by-student, level. When aspects of a test (e.g., stimuli that require visual perception or other manipulation exceeding the student’s visual or psychomotor proficiencies) serve as barriers to independently conducting an assessment, accommodations will be needed. Finally, when trainees cannot perform the function independently, careful consideration must be given to the degree to which adaptations that assist the student affect the validity of the assessment for the examinee. In general, standardized assessments demand that examiners follow precisely the standardized procedures for administering and scoring the assessment and deviations from protocol require thoughtful consideration but do not always compromise the validity of the administration.
