Communicating Results what can we say and to whom

Communicating Results what can we say and to whom

Overview • Communicating with the examinee • Communicating with children • Communicating with parents • General principles

The School Counselor’s Role • Communicating test results to • Students • Teachers • Administrators • Parents • Specific skills are required

The School Counselor’s Role • Who is entitled to know? • Federal law outlines rights • The examinee • The parents of minors • Other professionals within limits

Examinee Rights • Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 • Examinee is entitled to • The scores • Reasonable level of detail • Meaningful interpretations • Reasonable limitations of the scores

Parental Rights • Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 • Parents of minors are also entitled to • The scores • Reasonable level of detail • Meaningful interpretations • Reasonable limitations of the scores

Other Professionals • Access should be given to other trained professionals WITHIN the agency who have a reasonable educational need to know • The counselor needs to be aware of how test scores are being used or misused

Other Professionals • Routine release to other schools and colleges – transfers, admissions, etc. • Never disclosed in casual conversation • Access should not be given to other trained professionals OUTSIDE the agency without written permission of the examinee or parent of a minor

Other Professionals • Governed by school system or agency policy, and state law • Everyone in the agency should be aware of the policy • Examinees and parents should be aware of the policy

Releasing to Trained Professionals • Copy of the scores • Summary of the testing situation • Relevant observations • Written permission to release • Respect confidentiality

Releasing to Untrained Professionals • Written interpretative report • Offer to go over scores in person • Avoid jargon • Do not assume any knowledge • Focus on useful information – what the child knows and can do

Begin at the Beginning • Know the test • Know the original purpose of the test • How was it developed and for whom • Why does your agency use it? • Power versus speeded tests • Individual versus group tests

Begin at the Beginning • Know the testing situation • Examinee motivation • Local conditions • Become familiar with how the test works in your context • Develop local norms

Begin at the Beginning • Know the purpose for the testing • Know the norms • Know the metrics for the scores • Know the audience for the results

Communicating with the Examinee • Establish rapport • Ask the examinee how they think they did on the tests • Ask them what they expect to get out of the testing and debriefing

Communicating with the Examinee • Individuals with severe impairments should be referred to specialists • Keep to the central purpose for the assessment • Explain the nature of the norms

Communicating with the Examinee • Be careful not to force an interpretation on the examinee • Some examinees will be reluctant, resistant, or even defensive • Avoid a power struggle

Communicating with the Examinee • Document the exchange • It may give you important information about the examinee’s perception of themselves • It may help to save some things for later

Communicating with the Examinee • Try to go over all of the results • Emphasize strengths and areas for growth • Try to make helpful, realistic, and practical suggestions, such as using strengths to compensate for weaknesses

Communicating with the Examinee • Avoid overstating results, cause and effect statements, direct predictions • Try to determine if the examinee is understanding the results • Don’t assume they will remember everything - summarize

Communicating with Children • Children have a natural curiosity • Children have a considerable capacity for understanding • Probably best to work with 5th grade and above

Communicating with Children • General overview of the purpose of the testing • Individual conferences – not public discussion of individual scores • Use general terms, children tend to oversimplify

Communicating with Children • General discussion of strengths and weaknesses • Don’t be discouraging • Don’t overemphasize the positive • Be realistic in an encouraging way

Communicating with Parents • Expect some parents to be argumentative • Expect some parents to question both the purpose and the accuracy of the scores • Expect some parents to be defensive • Expect some parents to blame the school

Communicating with Parents • Discourage hostility toward the child • Don’t reward “passing through a phase” • In general, the principles for adult examinees apply to parents

Consider the Needs of the Audience • Other professionals often want just the facts • General public needs to know why they should care • Graphic organizers help • Be prepared to answer all questions – some people will be the curious

If Scores Seem Unreasonable • Different sources of information will sometimes conflict • Remember what is being measured and how • Try to look for patterns and make connections across sources

If Scores Seem Unreasonable • The score could be wrong • Our interpretation could be wrong • Both • Neither • Checking helps understand the whole situation

If Scores Seem Unreasonable • Check the scoring • Hand score a small sample • Consider how closely related the score is to the purpose of the assessment

If Scores Seem Unreasonable • Age of child • Cultural Bias • Construct validity relative to purpose • Measurement error • Interaction between examinee and test format

If Scores Seem Unreasonable • Example Outliers • PPVT SS Winter: 71 (z=-1.93) • PPVT SS Spring: 40 (z=-4.00) • Gain = -31 (z=-3.13) • WJ LWid SS Winter: 110 (z=0.67) • WJ LWid SS Spring: 67 (z=-2.20) • Gain = -43 (z=-3.32)

General Principles • Test scores can help institutions be efficient and effective at making decisions for large groups • However, they typically predict the performance of a group better than that of an individual

General Principles • It is important to remember that test scores “suggest”, they do not “prove” • Actual performance (past and future) of the examinee and others with similar scores is often best

Case Studies • MSA Applicant

Report Writing Resources • http://www.msresource.com/format.html • http://www.msresource.com/theory.html • Sample Reports • DSM IV strategy

Communicating Results what can we say and to whom