VALED 2202

Introduction to
Guidance and Counseling

Ma. Ruby Hiyasmin M. Delos Santos

Associate Professor III
College of Education
Central Luzon State University

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Module 3
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
AND ASSESSMENT

Learning Ojectives:

At the end of this chapter, the

students are expected to be able
to:
1. Describe the teacher’s role in
psychological testing and
evaluation.
2. Explain the basic concepts of
psychological testing.
3. Discuss the Role of Testing and
Assessment in Education.

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Lesson 1
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

All fields of human endeavor use assessment which comes in different forms and each
field has its own set of measuring tools and measuring units (Cohen, 2018). In the educational
field, psychological testing and assessment are popular ways in order to better understand a
student and come up with an objective evaluation of his/her actions.

The roots of contemporary psychological testing and assessment can be found in the early
twentieth century in France. In 1905, Alfred Binet and a colleague published a test designed to
help place Paris schoolchildren in appropriate classes. Binet’s tesy would have consequences well
beyond the Paris school district. Within a decade, an English-language version of Binet’s test was
prepared for use in schools in the United States. When the United States declared war on Germany
and entered World War I in 1917, the military needed a way to screen large numbers of recruits
quickly for intellectual and emotional problems. Psychological testing provided this methodology.
During World War II, the military would depend even more on psychological tests to screen
recruits for service. Following the war, more and more tests purporting to measure an ever-
widening array of psychological variables were developed and used. There were tests to measure
not only intelligence but also personality, brain functioning, performance at work, and many other
aspects of psychological and social functioning.

Psychological Testing and Assessment Defined

Testing was the term used to refer to everything from the administration of a test to the
interpretation of test score. During World War I, the term “testing” aptly described the group
screening of thousands of military recruits. However, by World War II, a semantic distinction
between testing and a more exclusive term, “assessment,” began to emerge. Assessment is the
use of variety of procedures and measurement tools in which testing is one among them, in
selecting military personnel for highly specialized positions involving espionage, intelligence
gathering, and the like.

Psychological testing is the process of measuring psychology-related variables by means

of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior. Psychological assessment is
the gathering and integration of psychology-related tools such as tests, interviews, case studies,
behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures.

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 Testing Assessment
Objective:
Typically to obtain some gauge, usually Typically, to answer a referral question, solve a
numerical in nature, with regard to an ability or problem, or arrive at a decision through the use
attribute. of tools or evaluation.

Process:
Testing may be individual or group in nature. Assessment is typically individualized. In
After test administration, the tester will typically contrast to testing, assessment more typically
add up the number of correct answers or “the focuses on how an individual processes rather
number of certain types of responses with little, than simply the result of such processing,
if any regard for the how or mechanics of such
content” (Malooney & Ward, 1976, p 39).

Role of Evaluator:
The tester is not key to the process; practically The assessor is key to the process of selecting
speaking, one tester may be substituted for tests and/or other tools of evaluation as well as
another tester without appreciably affecting the in drawing conclusions from the entire
evaluation evaluation.

Skill of Evaluator:
Testing requires technician-like skills in terms of Assessment typically requires an educated
administering and scoring a test as well as in selection of tools of evaluation, skill in
interpreting a test result. evaluation, and thoughtful organization and
integration of data.

Outcome:
Typically, testing yields a test score or series of Typically, assessment entails a logical problem-
test scores. solving approach that brings to bear many
sources of data designed to shed light on a
referral question.

Current Uses of Psychological Tests

1. Rating. To rate people when test data help determine where they fall relative to either
their peers or some standard of performance. It measure differences between individuals
or between the reactions of the same individual on different occasions. Tests are used to
identify individuals with mental retardation, intellectual deficiencies, emotionally
disturbed, delinquent, and other types of behavioral deviants.

2. Placement. Involves the evaluation of people so that they can be matched with the
appropriate services or environments.

3. Selection and classification of industrial personnel. Testing constitutes an

important part of the total personnel program. To be sure, the effective employment of
tests in many of these situations, especially in connection with high-level jobs, usually

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 requires that the tests be used as an adjunct to skillful interviewing, so that test scores
may be properly interpreted in the light of other background information about the
individual.

4. Counseling. The use of tests in counseling has gradually broadened from a narrowly
defined guidance regarding educational and vocational plans to an involvement with all
aspects of the person’s life. Emotional wellbeing and effective interpersonal relations have
become increasingly prominent objectives of counseling. There is growing emphasis, too,
on the use of tests to enhance self-understanding and personal development. Within this
framework, test scores are part of the information given to the individual as aids to his
own decision-making processes.

5. Competency and Proficiency. Tests can be used to indicate whether or not an

examinee’s performance meets a preselected criterion.
6. Diagnosis. In diagnosis, tests are used to determine the nature and typicality of an
individual’s underlying characteristics. Schools use tests to identify potential learning
problems in children and suggest areas of strength useful in planning remediation.
Clinicians use tests to identify areas of pathology or adjustment problems and to plan
treatment approaches.

7. Outcome evaluation. Tests also can be used to make decision by evaluating an

outcome, such as the value of a program, a product or a course of action.

Some Assumptions about Psychological Testing and Assessment

Assumption 1: Psychological Traits and States Exist

A trait has been defined as “any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one
individual varies from another” (Guilford, 1959, p.6). States also distinguish one person from
another but are relatively less enduring (Chaplin et al., 1988). The trait term that an observer
applies, as well as the strength or magnitude of the trait presumed to be present, is based on
observing a sample of behavior. Samples of behavior may be outlined in a number of ways,
ranging from direct observation to the analysis of self-report statements or pencil-and-paper test
answers.

Assumption 2: Psychological Traits and States can be Quantified and Measured

Once it is acknowledged that psychological traits and states do exist, the specific traits
and states to be measured and quantified need to be carefully defined. Once having defined the
trait, state or other construct to be measured, a test developer considers the types of item content
that would provide insight into it. From a universe of behaviors presumed to be indicative of the
targeted trait, a test developer has a world of possible items that can be written to gauge the
strength of that trait in test takers.

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Assumption 3. Test-Related Behavior Predicts Non-Test-Related Behaviors

The purpose of testing is to look at people’s behavior in the real world. The tasks in some
tests mimic the actual behaviors that the test user is attempting to understand. By their nature,
however, such tests yield only a sample of behavior that can be expected to be omitted under
nontest conditions. It is beyond the capacity of any known testing or assessment procedure to
reconstruct someone’s state of mind. Still, behavior samples may shed light, under certain
circumstances, on someone’s state of mind in the past.

Assumption 4. Tests and Other Measurement Techniques Have Strengths and

Weaknesses

Test users know the tests they use and are aware of test limitations – is emphasized
repeatedly in the codes of ethics of associations of assessment professionals.

Assumption 5. Various Sources of Error Are Part of the Assessment Process

In the context of assessment, error refers to a long standing assumption that factors other
than what a test attempts to measure will influence the performance on the test. Test scores are
always subject to questions about the degree to which the measurement process includes error.

Assumption 6. Testing and Assessment can Be Conducted in a Fair and Unbiased

Manner

This assumption is the most controversial out of the seven assumptions. Decades of court
challenges to various tests and testing programs have sensitized test developers and users to the
societal demand for fair tests used in a fair manner. One source of fairness-related problems is
the test user who attempts to use a particular test with people whose background and experience
are different from the background and experience of people for whom the test was intended.

Assumption 7. Testing and Assessment Benefit Society

In a world without tests, there would be a great need for instruments to diagnose
educational difficulties in reading and math and point the way to remediation, there would be no
instruments to diagnose neuropsychological impairments and there will be no practical way for
the military to screen thousands of recruits with regard to many key variables. Considering the
many critical decisions that are based on testing and assessment procedures, we can readily
appreciate the need for tests, especially good tests.

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Lesson 2
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT FOR EDUCATION

Psychological testing and assessment in school settings is in many ways similar to

psychological testing and assessment in other settings. This may be the case in part because the
practice of modern psychological testing and assessment began with an application to schools
(Fagan, 1996).

Psychological testing and assessment in school settings primarily targets problems of

learning and school adjustment. The primary focus is understanding and ameliorating learning
problems. Hence, this addresses problem prevention, such as reducing academic or social failure.
Furthermore, psychological assessment in school settings draws on procedures relevant to the
populations and problems served in schools. Therefore, school-based psychologists and guidance
counselors emphasize assessment of academic achievement and student learning, use
interventions that emphasize educational or learning approaches, and use consultation to
implement interventions. Because children experience problems in classrooms, playgrounds,
homes, and other settings that support education, interventions to address problems are
generally implemented in the setting where the problem occurs. It is in this regard that
psychological testing and assessment procedures that address student learning,
psychoeducational interventions, and intervention implementation mediated via consultation are
emphasized to a greater degree in schools than in other settings.

Brief History of Educational Assessment in the Philippines

Lifted from Magno, 2010

Magno (2010) mentioned in his report that the history of educational assessment in the
Philippines is described by the different pillars that contributed to its development. These factors
include timelines of government mandates, studies done in the national level, universities that
shape experts in the field, professional association, and pioneered researches. The following
outlines his written history of educational assessment in the Philippines.

A. Assessment in the Early Years

Monroe Survey (1925). Formal Assessment in the Philippines started as a

mandate from the government to look into the educational status of the country (Elevazo,
1968). The first assessment was conducted through a survey authorized by the Philippine
legislature in 1925. The legislature created the Board of Educational Survey headed by
Paul Monroe, and later, this board appointed an Educational Survey Commission who was
also headed by Paul Monroe. This commission visited different schools in the Philippines.
The commission observed different activities conducted in schools around the Philippines.
The results of the survey reported the following:

1. The public school system that is highly centralized in administration needs to be

humanized and made less mechanical.
2. Textbook and materials need to be adapted to Philippine life.

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 3. The secondary education did not prepare for life and recommended training in
agriculture, commerce, and industry.
4. The standards of the University of the Philippines were high and should be
maintained by freeing the university from political interference.
5. Higher education be concentrated in Manila.
6. English as medium of instruction was best. The use of local dialect in teaching
character education was suggested.
7. Almost all teachers (95%) were not professionally trained for teaching.
8. Private schools except under the religious groups were found to be unsatisfactory.

Research, Evaluation, and Guidance Division of the Bureau of Public

Schools. This division started as the Measurement and Research Division in 1924 which
was an off-shoot of the Monroe Survey. It was intended to be the major agent of research
in the Philippines. Its functions were to:

1. coordinate the work of teachers and supervisors in carrying out testing and
research programs
2. conduct educational surveys
3. construct and standardize achievement tests

Economic Survey Committee. In a legislative mandate in 1927, the director of

education created the Economic Survey Committee headed by Gilbert Perez of the Bureau
of Education. The survey studied the economic condition of the Philippines. They made
recommendations as to the best means by which graduates of the public school could be
absorbed to the economic life of the country. The results of the survey pertaining to
education include the following:

1. Vocational education is relevant to the economic and social status of the people.
2. It was recommended that the work of the schools should not be to develop a
peasantry class but to train intelligent, civic-minded homemakers, skilled workers,
and artisans.
3. Devote secondary education to agriculture, trades, industry, commerce, and home
economics.

The Prosser Survey. In 1930, C. A. Prosser made a follow-up study on vocational

education in the Philippines. He observed various types of schools and schoolwork. He
interviewed school officials and businessmen. He recommended in the survey to improve
various phases of the vocational educational such as 7th grade shopwork, provincial trade
schools, practical arts training in the regular high schools, home economics, placement
work, gardening, and agricultural education.

Other Government-Commissioned Surveys. After the Prosser survey, there

were several surveys conducted to determine mostly the quality of schools in the country
after the 1930s. All of these surveys were government-commissioned like the Quezon
Educational Survey in 1935 headed by Dr. Jorge C. Bacobo. Another study was made in
1939, which is a sequel to the Quezon Educational Surveys which made a thorough study
of existing educational methods, curricula, and facilities and recommended changes on

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financing public education in the country. This was followed by another congressional
survey in 1948 by the Joint Congressional Committee on Education to look into the
independence of the Philippines from America. This study employed several
methodologies.

UNESCO Survey (1949). The UNESCO undertook a survey on Philippine

Education from March 30 to April 16, 1948 headed by Mary Trevelyan. The objective of
the survey was to look at the educational situation of the Philippines to guide planners of
subsequent educational missions to the Philippines. The report of the surveys was
gathered from a conference with educators and layman from private and public school all
over the country. The following were the results:

1. There is a language problem.

2. There is a need to for more effective elementary education.
3. Lengthening of the elementary-secondary program from 10 to 12 years.
4. Need to give attention to adult education.
5. Greater emphasis on community school
6. Conduct thorough surveys to serve as basis for long-range planning.
7. Further strengthening of the teacher education program
8. Teachers income have not kept pace with the national income or cost of living
9. Delegation of administrative authority to provinces and chartered cities
10. Decrease of national expenditures on education
11. Advocated more financial support to schools from various sources

After the UNESCO study, it was followed by further government studies. In 1951,
the Senate Special Committee on Educational Standards of Private schools undertook a
study about private schools. The study was headed by Antonio Isidro where he
investigated the standards of instruction in private institutions of learning, and provide
certificates of recognition in accordance with their regulations.

In 1967, the Magsaysay Committee on General Education was created which was
financed by the University of the East Alumni Association. In 1960, the National Economic
Council and the International Cooperation Administration surveyed public schools. The
survey was headed by Vitaliano Bernardino, Pedro Guiang, and J. Chester Swanson. Three
recommendations were provided to public schools: (1) To improve the quality of
educational services, (2) To expand the educational services, and (3) To provide better
financing for the schools.

The assessment conducted in the early years were mostly mandated and/or
commissioned by the government. The private sectors were not included in the studies as
proponents. Most of these studies are usually headed by foreign counterparts such as the
UNESCO, Monroe, and Swanson survey. The focus of the assessments was on the
implementation of education in the country. These national researches were conducted
with the need of the government to determine the status of the education in the country.

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B. Assessment in the Contemporary Period and Future Directions

EDCOM Report (1991). The EDCOM report in 1991 indicated that high dropout
rates especially in the rural areas were significantly marked. The learning outcomes as
shown by achievement levels show mastery of the students in important competencies.
There were high levels of simple literacy among both 15- 24 year olds and 15+ year olds.
Repetition in Grade 1 was the highest among the six grades of primary education which
reflects the inadequacy of preparation among the young children. The children with which
the formal education system had to work with at the beginning of EFA were generally
handicapped by serious deficiencies in their personal constitution and in the skills they
needed to successfully go through the absorption of learning.

Philippine Education Sector Study (PESS-1999). Jointly conducted by the

World Bank and Asian Development Bank, the PESS recommended the following: 1. A
moratorium on the establishment of state colleges and universities; 2. Tertiary education
institutions be weaned from public funding sources; and 3. A more targeted program of
college and university scholarships. Aside from the government initiatives in funding and
conducting surveys that applied assessment methodologies and processes, the
government was also involved in the practice of testing where they screened government
employees in 1924. Grade four to fourth year high school students were tested in the
national level in 1960 to 1961. Private organizations also spearheaded the enrichment of
assessment practices in the Philippines. These private institutions are the Center for
Educational Measurement (CEM) and the Asian Psychological Services and Assessment
Corporation (APSA).

Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE). FAPE started with testing
programs such as the guidance and testing program in 1969. They started with the College
Entrance Test (CET) which was first administered in 1971 and again in 1972. The
consultants who worked with the project were Dr. Richard Pearson from the Educational
Testing Service (ETS), Dr. Angelina Ramirez, and Dr. Absraham Felipe. FAPE then worked
with the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS) to design the first National
College Entrance Exam (NCEE) that served to screen fourth year high school students who
were eligible to take a formal four-year course. There was a need to administer a national
test then because most universities and colleges do not have an entrance exam to screen
admission of students. Later, the NCEE was completely endorsed by FAPE to the National
Educational Testing Center of the DECS. The testing program of FAPE continued where
they developed a package of four tests which are the Philippine Aptitude Classification
Test (PACT), the Survey/Diagnostic Test (S/DT), the College Scholarship Qualifying Test
(CSQT), and the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT). In 1978, FAPE institutionalized
an independent agency called the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM) that
undertook the testing and other measurement services since then.

Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE). The CEM was then headed
by Dr. Leticia M. Asuzano who was the executive vice-president. Since then, several
private schools have been members in the CEM network. Since 1960, the CEM developed
over 60 tests focused on education like the National Medical Admissions Test (NMAT). The
main advocacy of the CEM is to improve the quality of formal education through its

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 continuing advocacy and supporting systematic research. The CEM promotes the role of
educational testing and assessment to improve the quality of formal education at the
institutional and systems levels. Through testing, the CEM helps to improve effectiveness
for teaching and student guidance.

Asian Psychological Services and Assessment Corporation (APSA). In

1982, there was a growing demand for testing not only in the educational setting but in
the industrial setting. Dr. Genevive Tan who was then a consultant in various industries
felt the need to measure the Filipino „psyche‟ in a valid way because most industries use
foreign tests. The Asian Psychological Services and Assessment Corporation (APSA) was
then created to fulfill this need. In 2001, headed by Dr. Leticia Asuzano, the former
Executive Vice President of CEM, the APSA extended its services for testing in the
academic setting because of the felt need for quality educational testing in the private
sector.

The Role of Psychological Testing and Assessment in Education

Educators are interested in finding answers to diverse questions as student progresses

through school. These questions are as follows.

 How well have students learned and mastered the subject matter they were
taught?
 To what extent the students were able to apply what they have learned to novel
circumstances and situations?
 Which students demonstrated the ability or skills necessary to move on to the next
level of learning?
 Which students demonstrated the ability or skills necessary for independent living?
 What are the challenges or obstacles that are preventing an individual student
from meeting educational objectives, and how can those obstacles best be
overcome?
 How effective are teachers in assisting students to master specific curriculum
goals?
 Do passing test scores on a curriculum-specific test genuinely reflect the fact that
the testtakers have mastered the curriculum?
 Do failing test scores on a curriculum-specific test really reflect the fact that
testtakers have not mastered the content of the curriculum?

These are just some of the questions that teachers, principals, department chairs or school
heads may ask in light of psychological testing and assessment. There is no question that both
psychological testing and assessment are significant in the context of education. These two
concepts play a vital role in appropriate placement of students, diagnosing learning, behavioral
and emotional difficulties, achieving and maintaining academic standards and enriching the

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teaching performance of the faculty anchoring on the specific needs of the students measured by
psychological tests and assessment.

Some important roles of psychological testing and assessment are as follows:

1. Determine the optimum level of work and the students capacity to succeed. For example,
standardized aptitude tests, school entrance tests are used as basis for predicting success
in a particular course or year level.

2. Used for selection, classification and placement of students to ensure economy and
equality of learning if classes are homogenous and provide if necessary, for special classes
for the gifted and the mentally challenged.

3. Used in the diagnosis of learning difficulties, behavioral problems and emotional

disturbances for remedial procedures.

4. Important mechanisms for guidance and counseling purposes.

5. Relevant in the learning process because they help

a. Select, appraise and clarify instructional objectives.
b. Describe and report learner progress toward, or achievement of, educational
objectives.
c. Plan, direct and improve learning experiences.

6. For evaluation of curricula which can profoundly improve the quality of education.

Tools of Assessment in Educational Setting

A. Achievement Test

Achievement tests are designed to measure accomplishment and the learning that
has taken place as a result of exposure to a relatively defined learning experiences. In
most educational settings, achievement tests are used to gauge student progress towards
instructional objectives, compare an individual’s performance and accomplishment to
peers, and help determine what instructional activities and strategies might best propel
the students towards educational objectives (Cohen, 2018). (e.g. National Achievement
Test (NAT), term examinations, periodical examination).

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Examples:

Measures of General Achievement Measures of Achievement in Specific

Subject Areas
This surveys learning in one or more academic Most measures of achievement in specific subject
areas. Tests that cover a number of academic areas are teacher-made tests. Teacher-made
areas are typically divided into several subtests tests are usually of the paper-and-pencil type. It
and are referred to as achievement batteries. could be in the form of the objective type or
These are considered as standardized tests. essay, or both. These type of achievement tests
Standardized tests provide exact, uniform are cost-effective and easy to prepare. Some of
procedures in controlling the method of these tests are highly representative of course
administration and scoring and has norms for objectives, are at an appropriate level of
interpretation of scores. difficulty, and are used in reasonable ways.
 Wide Range Achievement Test  Quizzes
 Sequential Test of Educational Progress  Term Examination
 SRA California Achievement Test  Periodical Tests
 Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
 National Achievement Test (NAT)

B. Aptitude Test

As defined by Cohen (2018), aptitude tests tend to focus more on informal learning
or life experiences. These are also referred to as prognostic tests because they are used
to make predictions. Some aptitude tests have been used to measure readiness to:

1. enter a particular preschool program

2. enter elementary school
3. successfully complete a challenging course of study in secondary school
4. successfully complete college-level work
5. successfully complete graduate-level work, including a course of study at a
professional or trade school

C. Diagnostic Test

Diagnostic tests are tools used to identify areas of deficit to be targeted for
intervention. However, these does not necessarily provide information that will answer
questions why a learning difficulty exists. Other educational, psychological and perhaps
medical examinations are needed to answer that question. In general, diagnostic tests are
administered to students who have already demonstrated their problems with a particular
subject area through their poor performance either in the classroom or on some
achievement tests (Cohen, 2018)

D. Psychoeducational Test Batteries

Psychoeducational test batteries are test kits that generally contain two types of
tests: those that measure abilities related to academic success and those that measure
educational achievement in areas such as reading and arithmetic. Data derived from these
batteries allow for normative comparisons (how the students are compared to other

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 students within the same age group) as well as an evaluation of the testtaker’s own
strengths and weaknesses – all the better to plan educational interventions (Cohen, 2018).

E. Other Tools of Assessment

1. Performance, Portfolio and Authentic Assessment

Performance test is a work sample designed to elicit representative knowledge,

skills and values from a particular domain of study. Performance assessment is an
evaluation of performance tests according to criteria developed by experts from the
domain of study tapped by those tasks.

One type of performance assessment is portfolio assessment. In the language

of psychological and educational assessment, portfolio is synonymous with work
sample. Portfolio assessment refers to the evaluation of one’s work samples.

Authentic assessment in educational context refers to the evaluation of relevant,

meaningful tasks that may be conducted to evaluate learning of academic subjects
matter but that demonstrate the student’s transfer of that study to real-world
activities.

2. Peer Appraisal Techniques

Peer appraisal technique is a method of obtaining information about an

individual by asking that individual’s peer group to make the evaluation. Peer
appraisals can help call needed attention to an individual who is experiencing
academic, personal, social or work-related difficulties - difficulties that for whatever
reason, have not come to the attention of the person-in-charge.

Peer appraisals allow the individual in charge to view members of a group

from a different perspective: the perspective of those who work, play, eat lunch,
socialize and walk home with the person being evaluated.

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