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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

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Communicating Results what can we say and to whom

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  1. Communicating Results what can we say and to whom

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

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

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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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

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

  22. 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

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

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. 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

  27. 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

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

  29. 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

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

  31. 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)

  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

  33. 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

  34. Case Studies • MSA Applicant

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

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