Stephen T. DeMers

APA's guidelines for test user qualifications: An executive summary.

At the direction of the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Task Force on Test User Qualifications (TFTUQ) was established in October 1996 to develop guidelines that inform test users and the general public of the qualifications that the APA considers important for the competent and responsible use of psychological tests. The TFTUQ reviewed the relevant literature related to test user qualifications (see, e.g., Eyde, Moreland, Robertson, Primoff, & Most, 1988, and Tyler, 1986), as well as policy statements developed by the APA (1950, 1992) and other groups both national (e.g., American Educational Research Association [AERA], APA, & National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 1999; American Association for Counseling and Development, 1988) and international (British Psychological Society, 1995, 1996; International Test Commission, 2000). The task force then developed a set of comprehensive guidelines and solicited comments from numerous individuals and groups involved with test use both within and outside the APA. The final report of the TFTUQ was approved by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2000. This article provides a brief summary of the Guidelines on Test User Qualification (APA, 2000) that are now APA policy. The TFTUQ was established in part because of evidence that some current users of psychological tests may not possess the knowledge and skill that the APA considers desirable for optimal test use (see, e.g., Aiken, West, Sechrest, & Reno, 1990). The phrase test user qualifications refers to the combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, training, experience, and, where appropriate, practice credentials that the APA considers desirable for the responsible use of psychological tests. The guidelines in the TFTUQs report are intended to apply to persons who use psychological tests in a variety of settings and for diverse purposes. The APAs purpose in developing these guidelines is to inform test users as well as individuals involved with training programs, regulatory and credentialing bodies, and the public about the qualifications that promote high professional standards in the use of tests with the public. Historical Background

Gender, creativity, depression, and attributional style in adolescents with high academic ability

The present study examined the relationship among gender, creativity, depression, and attributional style among high-achieving adolescents. One hundred twenty-eight eighth-and ninth-grade high-achieving students completed the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), the Childrens Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Childrens Attribution Style Questionnaire — Revised (KASTAN-R CASQ). The results indicate that there were gender differences only on the verbal component of the TTCT, with females scoring significantly higher. For both sexes, there was a significant relationship between figurai creativity and a depressogenic attributional style. However, for females, high verbal creativity was associated with low levels of depression and a positive attributional style.

Comparison of interrater reliability on the torrance tests of creative thinking for gifted and nongifted students

Despite their widespread use in identifying and evaluating programs for gifted and talented students, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were standardized on samples that excluded gifted children. The interrater reliability of measures like the TTCT has been questioned repeatedly, yet studies with average students have demonstrated high interrater reliability. This study compares the interrater reliability of the TTCT for groups of gifted and nongifted elementary-school-aged students. Results indicated most interrater reliability coefficients exceeding .90 for both gifted and nongifted groups. However, multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant mean differences across the three self-trained raters for both gifted and nongifted groups. Consequently, use of a single scorer to evaluate TTCT protocols is recommended, especially where specific cutoff scores are used to select students.

Health Care Reform and Psychological Practice in Schools

National policy calls for the placement of comprehensive, customer-oriented, and accessible health and social services programs for Americas children and youth. Schools have been targeted as the ideal location for such services. Numerous models of school-based and school-linked programs have been initiated. The role of psychology in these emerging models and programs is highly variable; however, it is an essential service that increasingly is being recognized as necessary in order for schools to address complex and diverse student and staff health needs. In this article, models for the delivery of school health services are profiled. Implications for practitioners who currently work in schools and for psychologists who are not currently working in schools but who are interested in maximizing psychologys contribution to school health services are offered.

Comprehensive Assessment of Children and Youth with ADHD.

Outlines relevant issues—medical and educational/psychological—in assessment of children with ADHD

COMPARISON OF SCORES ON TWO VISUAL-MOTOR TESTS FOR CHILDREN REFERRED FOR LEARNING OR ADJUSTMENT DIFFICULTIES

93 students 6 to 11 yr. old and referred for evaluation because of learning or adjustment difficulties by their classroom teachers were administered Beerys Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration and Koppitzs version of the Bender-Gestalt test. Previous research with retarded samples indicated the two tests were highly correlated while one study using normal subjects yielded significant differences between the tests. The present study indicated significant mean differences between the tests and significant but moderate correlations between the measures for each of three age ranges between 6 and 11 yr. In general, Beerys test gave higher standard scores for this sample of referred students; examiners are cautioned not to use the tests interchangeably with similar populations.

Professional mobility for psychologists is rapidly becoming a reality.

Professional mobility for psychologists has been a problem since states first passed psychology licensing laws because of relatively small but crucial variations in licensing requirements. Although the profession of psychology and the association of psychology regulatory bodies in the United States and Canada (i.e., the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards [ASPPB]) have recognized this problem for decades, little progress was made in resolving it. Recently, the ASPPB launched two different approaches to facilitating professional mobility: one to forge agreements between regulatory bodies to accept each others licensees, and another to certify or endorse individual psychologists who meet ASPPB standards for licensure and therefore can be recommended to licensing boards for relicensure. The specific requirements of each of these programs and their success in addressing the professional mobility problem are described.

Integrating Consultation and Program Evaluation in School Psychology.

Abstract Consultation approaches to providing psychological services are widely used by school psychologists. Recently, the need for school psychologists to be proficient in educational program evaluation has been recognized. The present paper discusses how school psychologists can use their existing consultation skills as an approach to program evaluation. The integration of consultation skills with evaluation results in an approach to program evaluation that is particularly useful where program goals and objectives are broad and nonspecific (as in many educational innovations). Also, the consultation approach to evaluation is easier for school psychologists to blend with their other roles in schools than the assessment-oriented evaluator role of some evaluation models. The consultation approach to evaluation is illustrated using a federally sponsored training program for school teachers and administrators.