Psychological Assessment
Psychological Testing & Assessment
What is Psychological Testing and Assessment?
For many, psychological testing may sound scary, however, it’s designed to help you by allowing the psychologists to arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment. Psychologists use tests and other assessment tools to measure and observe a client’s behavior, personality, and capabilities. Psychological assessment is also referred to as psychological testing or performing a psychological battery on a person.
Psychological testing is nearly always performed by a licensed psychologist, or a psychology trainee (such as an intern). Psychologists are the only profession that is expertly trained to perform and interpret psychological tests.
What is the Difference between Tests and Assessments?
Tests and assessments are two separate but related components of a psychological evaluation. Psychologists use both types of tools to help them arrive at a diagnosis and a treatment plan.
- Testing involves the use of a standardized psychological test. These are often described as “norm-referenced” tests. That simply means the tests have been standardized so that test-takers are evaluated similarly, no matter where they live or who administers the test.
- Psychological assessment can include numerous components such as norm-referenced psychological tests, informal tests and surveys, interview information, school or medical records, medical evaluation, and observational data.
TYPES OF TESTING & ASSESSMENTS
Clinical Assessment/Interview
Most times clients may know something might be wrong, without knowing exactly what might be needed. This is a way of diagnosing and planning treatment for a patient that involves evaluating to figure out what is wrong. This clinical interview is an opportunity for the professional to gather important background and family data about the person. Before any formal psychological testing is done, a clinical interview is always conducted (even if the person has already gone through one with a different professional).
Clinical Assessment/Interview
A psychoeducational assessment can identify learning challenges in students of all ages, from young children to adults. Examine the achievement and ability of the individual. It can also identify Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Intellectual Disabilities, reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia) and mathematic (dyscalculia) challenge, and other mental health issues that can impact a student’s performance and behaviour both in and outside of the classroom. A major component of the psychoeducational assessment is to identify areas of strength and weakness in a student’s learning profile and provides a deeper understanding of their educational abilities.
It incorporates some aspects of a psychological assessment (behavioural evaluation, social-emotional testing) but it also places greater emphasis on evaluating an individual’s intellectual potential and one’s current level of achievement. It also measures key aspects of development such as adaptive functioning and visual-motor integration skills. Special education testing (dyslexia and other specialist linguistic tools) is sometimes required to facilitate accurate diagnosis and referral for services.
What are the signs of hidden challenges?
Common signs of hidden challenges include:
- Low grades on report cards
- Disruptive behaviour or difficulty focusing during class
- Difficulty completing schoolwork on-time
- Feeling overwhelmed or anxious at school or during exams
- Not achieving results at full potential
- Bullying or rejection at school
Psychological Assessment
A psychological assessment evaluates thinking, learning, and behaviour. The Assessment is often sought after to diagnose a condition or to understand one’s possible difficulties in any area of functioning, it is also important to learn what someone’s strengths are. The assessment may include interviews, observation, testing, and consultation with other professionals. A Full Psychological Assessment is a thorough evaluation of how a person thinks feels and behaves. It is made up of a set of procedures that are administered and interpreted to obtain a comprehensive picture of a person’s holistic functioning.
A psychological Assessment can seek to help understand clients’ emotional and/or personality functioning and can help with recommendations for further mental health/psychological treatment. The information helps empower people to develop and grow, and results obtained from the psychological assessment can help people be more informed as to how to proceed with utilizing their cognitive and/or emotional strengths to help improve their mental health overall. Findings can also help guide other referrals, such as to other specialists (such as a psychiatrist or a neurologist).
Psychometric Assessment
Psychometric tests are a standard and scientific method used to measure individuals’ mental capabilities and behavioural styles. This is concerned with the objective measurement of skills and knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational achievement. The process measures relevant strengths and weaknesses and primarily assesses employment suitability, including company-candidate fit. They identify the extent to which candidates’ personalities and cognitive abilities match those required to perform the role. Employers use the information collected from the psychometric test to identify the hidden aspects of candidates that are difficult to extract from a face-to-face interview.
There are three main assessments which can be utilized to identify several challenges presented by employees. These are aptitude tests, behavioural tests, and assessment centres:
- Aptitude Tests: These tests have the goal of assessing various cognitive abilities from numeracy and literacy skills to spatial awareness and more.
- Behavioural Tests: These tests are intended to highlight specific personality traits that could indicate suitability for specific roles. These can come in the form of personality questionnaires, leadership tests, motivation tests, and situational judgment tests.
- Assessment Centres: Assessment centres are based on human interaction assessments. Various exercises utilise job-specific skills and simulations and are usually carried out by assessors/psychologists.
Developmental Tests
Every child develops at an individual pace. However, development tests may help to distinguish between normal disparities in development among children and early signs of a developmental problem. Developmental testing is typically used in pre-school/kindergarten-aged children with developmental delays. This type of testing is used to assess what early intervention services are needed and can be used to screen and assess for other disorders.
Early intervention services address various aspects of the child’s functioning, including areas such as:
- Cognition
- Communication
- Behavior
- Social Interaction
- Motor and Sensory Abilities
- Adaptive Skills
These left untreated in the early phases can cause severe functioning later in the child’s life.
Development tests have different purposes depending on the age of the child and maybe administered under a variety of circumstances. They are designed according to the expected skills of children at a specific age. The tests range from the passive evaluation of an infant to the complex testing of adolescents. Assessment of the family and the child’s environment also provides important contextual information.