Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment: 2016 Annual Report

The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA) held two meetings in 2016 in conjunction with the spring and fall APA Consolidated Meetings. The following report summarizes the major issues the committee focused on over the past year.

Guidelines

Members of CPTA continued their engagement in activities related to the development of guidelines for test user qualifications.  In 2017, members of the committee will participate in a joint task force with representative of the practice community to revise the Guidelines for Test User Qualifications.

Members of CPTA continued to monitor activities related to organizationally sponsored outreach and educational efforts involving the 2014 edition of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. 

Policy Statements

Members of the committee continued participation in the development of policy initiatives related to quantitative psychology and psychological screening. 

Members of CPTA completed work on an informational document focused on issues related to test security. It is anticipated that the document will be available for distribution mid-2017.  

The members of CPTA continued to monitor the activities of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international standards organization whose members include various countries from around the world; and the International Test Commission (ITC) of which APA is an organizational member. 

Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE)

CPTA continued its participation in the activities of the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education (CPSE). Dr. Robyn Hess was the CPTA representative to group, and as such, attended both meetings of the group in 2016.

Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE)

Dr. Jennifer Merriman is the APA/CPTA representative to the Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE). In her capacity as the APA representative to the JCSEE, Dr. Merriman attended one face to face, and one virtual, meeting of the group in 2016. She also continued to participate in the revision of two JCSEE publications, the Personnel Evaluation Standards (in Education) and the Program Evaluation Standards.

CPTA continued to address a variety of assessment related policy issues in 2016. Most notably, members of the Committee provided support for APA's advocacy efforts related to the reauthorization and implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Members of the Committee also continued to monitor relevant activities involving the multi-state adoption and implementation of the Common Core educational standards.

In 2016, CPTA members included, Thanos Patelis, PhD, chair, Yosseph Ben-Porath, PhD, Laura Gutierrez, PsyD, Patrick Kyllonen, PhD, Robyn S. Hess, PhD, Fred Oswald, PhD, Ann Marie Ryan, PhD, Lisa D. Stanford, PhD and Susan Whiston, PhD.    

In 2016, CPTA consisted of five females and four males. One member is Hispanic and eight are white/Caucasian. One member is an Early Career Psychologist (ECP). At their fall 2016 meeting, the members of CPTA elected Dr. Lisa Stanford as chair of the committee for 2017.