Week 4 - Reliability & Validity

I must admit that my head is spinning a bit after reading this week's chapters on reliability and validity. While my suspicions that I most likely will never be interested in creating new instruments (on a large scale) have been confirmed, I am appreciative of the following ideas that were spurred on by this week's reading. One is that I think most of us take for granted the reliability and validity of many things in our lives. I think of the PSSA tests my 4th grader will be taking soon. I really don't know much about the nitty gritty details of this standardized test that already is making her nervous. I took the GRE years ago and really didn't know much about the instrument except for  the power it held over my future plans. I think back to when I was a teenager and taking the written exam to get my driver's license. Did I care if the exam was using appropriate content? No! I just wanted my shiny new license.

I now have a much greater appreciation for all that goes into creating, administering and interpreting a test. It is overwhelming in many ways as I am now aware of many of the issues and variables that go into a test from it's creation through to the interpretation of results. Drummond and Jones write, "It is the responsibility of test users to carefully read the validity information in the test manual and evaluate the suitability of the test for their specific purposes." (2010,p.115) As an individual, it is easy to gloss over reliability and validity issues in our own lives. We can take the "cross your fingers" approach and just assume that someone else has checked up on the reliability and validity factors. As a school counselor though, we are responsible for our students and have a responsibility to make the wisest and most informed choices for them whether it be a referral to another professional or which assessment tool will be the most beneficial for them to use and gain insight into their world.



Drummond, R. J. and Jones, K. (2010). Assessment procedures for counselors and helping
     professionals (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.