Week 8

I appreciated the information presented in the article by Giordano, Schweibert, and Brotherton. Because of the sheer volume of tests available for use with children, it is helpful to know which ones have been rated by this sample of counselors as most useful. In practice, it may be helpful for me to specifically learn how to use the top six assessments cited in the article, including the WISC-R, BDI, the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory, the Strong Interest Inventory, the MBTI, and the WAIS-R. In addition to learning about these assessments on my own, I anticipate that I will also acquire more information about these assessments in this course. The sentiments expressed by the counselors in this article seem to echo many of the same discussions that we’ve had in class so far. The study participants expressed a need for more training using specific assessment tools and interpreting instruments more generally. I’m also happy that the counselors recognized the importance of implementing a comprehensive testing program which uses a variety of tests, which could cover such diverse topics as intelligence and personality tests, career inventories, and substance abuse and depression assessments. In suggesting a range of instruments, the counselors “recognize that useful assessment information can reflect many aspects of the student and can come from different types of professionals” (Giordano, F.G., Schweibert, V.L., & Brotherton, W.D., 1997, p. 5). Drummond and Jones provide a useful example demonstrating the importance of using multiple sources of data when presenting the case study about a student named James in chapter nine. According to James’ results from the Stanford Achievement test, his strongest area of achievement is mathematics, as he scored high in comparison to other 5th graders on this portion of the exam. On the other hand, his scores on Listening, Total Reading, Language, Spelling, and Science are below average as compared to his peers. When his scores on this test are compared with his performance in class, administrators find that he is an average student in mathematics, but lacks behind in reading comprehension and has difficulty following directions. His problems in reading comprehension affect his performance in other areas as well, including science and social studies. When an additional piece of data is added into this overall picture, which includes James’ below average performance in vocabulary, listening comprehension and other areas of reading comprehension on a local minimum-skills level test, administrators can definitely confirm that James struggles in this area. Taking other contextual factors into consideration, such as fairly strong parental support and normal attendance, disciplinary, and homework completion records, indicates that James struggles in his reading aptitude. Because of this wide range of data pointing to a specific need, James is assigned to work in a specific learning disabilities resource room. This referral would not have been possible without incorporating the multiple sources of data described above. Drummond, R. J. & Jones, K. (2010). Assessment procedures for counselors and helping professionals. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Giordano, F.G. & Schwiebert, V. L. (1997). School counselors’ perceptions of the usefulness of standardized tests, frequency of their use, and assessment training needs. School Counselor (44)3.