Assessment of Diverse Populations and Final Reflection

As I have pointed out several times throughout this semester, an area of particular interest and concern to me is multicultural counseling and assessment.  For me I thought this was a great chapter to end on because it really brought together all the other groups of people that should be given special consideration.  Chapter 15 also made me think about how each individual should be given the correct attention to ensure they are being assessed fairly and accurately (Drummond and Jones, 2010).  I thought it was appropriate to first break down the different ways that a test could be unfair and have bias in order to make us future counselors be aware of these concerns when we have to give different assessments.  I thought it was especially important to be aware of the things that we can avoid such as giving the directions correctly and using the proper scoring procedure.  Another area that was crucial was reviewing the manual previously to giving an assessment tool to make sure that it is appropriate for the group the individual belongs to (Drummond and Jones, 2010).  Were they included in the norming group? Does the tool have reliability and validity?  Is the internal consistency different based on what group is taking it?  This awareness that I have gained throughout the semester and from information in this chapter as given me a framework and foundation to better use assessment tools to the advantage of my students in the future.  I also appreciated the different groupings that Drummond and Jones (2010) provided and giving some background to what is important when working with a student under that category.  It was a good brief summary of the different types of students that will be in our schools.

After completing my final reading assignment, I wanted to take the time to reflect on everything that I have gotten from this class this semester.  First of all Drummond and Jones (2010) textbook is an excellent resource that I am likely to use in my practicum and professional time.  I felt it provided a lot of detail in the areas needed, such as validity, reliability, test administration, ethics, and the different areas of assessment.  I also felt that many subsequent areas were covered in order to provide a good foundation for understanding how to use assessment correctly and its importance for student's success.  Along with the readings in the textbook, we had many additional readings that provided increased understanding of the benefits of assessment.  Even though I did gain a lot from these readings, I believe the experiences that I had in the class provided the most knowledge and understanding.  Being able to give an assessment, write an assessment report and provide an interpretation session began to give me an understanding for how I can use this process in my future career.  Watching each other's videos gave me more ideas and a better framework for how I can appropriately provide an interpretation session.  It really wasn't until we observed each other's videos that I had an understanding of what was appropriate and the best way to provide the interpretation.  Learning through experience is the best approach for me.  That is what I hope to continue to gain more of as I move forward next year into my practicum. Overall I am happy with what I have gained from this class and am excited to take some of these skills into my internship next year!

Drummond, R. J. and Jones, K. (2010). Assessment procedures for counselors and

helping professionals. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.