ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTATION
Office Hours: By Appointment (2:00 – 5:00 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays)
REQUIRED TEXTS
Erford, B.T. (2007). Assessment for counselors. Boston: Lahaska Press
Brigman, G., Mulis, F., Webb, L., & White, J. (2005). School counselor consultation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley
RESOURCES
National Board of Certified Counselors http://www.nbcc.org/
American School Counselor’s Association http://www.schoolcounselor.org/
EVALUATION
Class Participation 20%
Paper on Psychological Disorder due 4-1 10%
Test Critique (see format p. 183/ Erford) due 4-15 10%
Assessment Report due 5-6 40%
Summary of Historical Perspectives on Assessment
due 4-15 10%
Statement of Personal Model of Consultation due 5-13 10%
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will help the student understand and interpret the principles of assessing students with and without disabilities. It includes valid evaluations and their use in eligibility determination, development of individualized educational plans and monitoring student progress. Standardized and non-standardized assessment techniques will be discussed in detail including some state and national assessments. The range of assessments include intellectual functioning, interest inventories, achievement tests, aptitude tests, objective and projective personality assessments and non-test techniques such as observation and self-reporting. There will be a special emphasis placed on the role of the counselor as a consultant to staff and colleagues in schools and other agency settings. Discussion will be included of federal and state rules and regulations as they apply to the rights and ethical responsibilities of the professional and the population served by the professional. Special consideration will be given to the treatment of minority populations and children with disabilities in the assessment and consultation process and in the inclusive educational environment. Prerequisite ED 5030.
CONTENT AREAS
üCounselor’s roles in assessment and consultation
üStatistical properties and construction of test instruments
üTypes of assessment instruments and techniques
üAreas of assessment and consultation
üSchool-based consultation
üDSM-IV-TR
üEthics of assessment and consultation
üBloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
ü504 plans
üResponse to Intervention and Curriculum-Based Assessment
üState testing
üCommunication of test results
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. What is assessment and how is it used in counseling?
2. What are the historical, legal, ethical and diversity aspects of assessment and consultation?
3. What are reliability and validity and why are they important in assessment?
4. How are assessment instruments and techniques administered, scored and interpreted?
5. How are tests constructed?
6. What is the DSM-IV-TR and how is it used?
7. What constitutes the different areas of assessment: clinical, personality, behavioral, functional behavior, intelligence, aptitude, achievement, curriculum-based, career, school climate, functional and couples and families?
8. What is Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives?
9. What is Response to Intervention and Curriculum-Based Assessment?
10. What are the diverse types of and techniques used in school-based consultation?
11. What are the best practices involved in communicating assessment results?
PERFORMANCE BASED OBJECTIVES
Students will
§ define assessment and describe how it used in counseling
§ explain the historical, legal, ethical and diversity aspects of assessment and consultation
§ explain how assessment instruments are constructed including their statistical properties
§ demonstrate competence in selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting assessment instruments
§ demonstrate best practices in communicating test results
§ demonstrate knowledge of basic consultation techniques
§ complete an assessment of a child
§ report on a sound school climate assessment instrument
§ explain the multiaxial diagnostic based on the DSM-IV-TR
§ explain those areas to which assessment is applied
§ describe Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
§ explain Response to Intervention and Curriculum-Based Assessment
§ discuss areas in which counselors apply consultation skills
§ discuss techniques used in school-based consultation
§ demonstrate best practices used in communicating assessment results
ASSIGNMNENTS AND RELATED STANDARDS
1. Test Critique: Students will research and report in writing on a school climate instrument. The format for the report is on page 183 in the Erford text. This assignment meets CACREP ASSESSMENT standards b through g and CONSULTATION standards a – d; and New Hampshire State standards b and f
2. Assessment Report (See Appendix): This will include:
a. Client Interview: Students will conduct a clinical interview –unstructured, semi-structured or structured - and summarize the findings.
b. Battery of Tests: Students will choose a combination of assessment instruments appropriate for the client and administer, score and interpret them
c. Observation: The client may be observed at play, in the classroom or interacting with family members
d. Optional: Self-Report, Functional Behavior Assessment
This assignment meets CACREP ASSESSMENT standards f - h and RESEARCH
and ASSESSMENT standards a - c; and New Hampshire State standards 8 b and c
4. Summary of Historical Perspectives on Assessment: This paper will focus on a brief history of the nature and meaning of assessment.
This meets CACREP ASSESSMENT standard a
5. Statement of Personal Model of Consultation: This paper should reflect the counselor’s understanding of all the components of successful consultation such as
theories, models and strategies to help parents, teachers, other staff members and
community members to enhance the full development of children.
This meets CACREP CONSULTATION standards a –d; and New Hampshire State standards a – d
FORMAT
The course will use a variety of approaches including videos, guest speakers, field work, small and large group discussions, lecture-discussions, demonstrations, simulations and presentations.
PARTICIPATION/ATTENDANCE GRADING POLICY
Number of Absences Level of Participation Grade
1 HIGH A/A-
1 AVERAGE B+
1 LOW B/B-
2 HIGH C+
2 AVERAGE C
2 LOW C-
NOTE: Students absent three times will forfeit the weighting system and will be graded at my discretion. For 4 or more absences the course will have to be retaken.
COURSE SCHEDULE
3-4 Course Introduction, Syllabus, Introductions
3-11 Problems and Concerns in Assessment
Basic Assessment Concepts and Historical, Legal, Ethical, and Diversity Foundations Assessment, Ch. 1 and 2/ Erford
3-18 Spring Break. No Class
3-25 Basic Statistical Properties of Tests and Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Reliability, Validity, Selection; Administering, Scoring, and Interpreting Assessment
Instruments and Techniques and Test Construction, Ch. 3-6/ Erford
4-1 Multiaxial Diagnosis: The DSM-IV-TR
Clinical and Personality Assessment, Ch. 7 and 8
School Psychologist Guest Speaker
Paper on Psychological Disorder
4-8 504 Accommodation Plans
Behavior and Intelligence Assessment, Ch. 9 and 10
Classroom Demonstration of WISC-IV and BASC-2
4-15 Response to Intervention and Curriculum-Based Measurement
Assessment of Other Aptitudes, Achievement, Career Counseling and Couples and Families, Ch. 11-14
Guest Speakers on State Testing, RTI and C-BM
Summary of History of Assessment due
4-22 The School Counselor as Consultant
School Counselors as Consultants, A School-Based Approach to Consultation,
and Ethical Issues in Consultation, Ch. 1-3/ Brigman
School Counselor Guest Speaker
4-29 The Basic Consultation Model, Issues and Working with Teachers and Parents
Case Consultation with Teachers and Parents, Typical Issues in School Consultation
and Workshops and Education Programs, Ch. 4-6/ Brigman
Test Critique due
5-6 Best Practices in Communicating Test Results and Rubric for Report Presentations
Other Consultation Opportunities in Schools and Creating a Climate of Cooperation
in Classroom Meetings, Ch. 7 and 8/ Brigman; and The Descriptive-Collaborative
Approach to Psychological Report Writing/ Sandy
Assessment Report Presentations
Assessment Report due
5-13 Course Evaluation
Consultation with Administrators and in the Community, Ch. 9 & 10
Assessment Report Presentations cont’d
Summary of Personal Model of Consultation due
CACREP Standards
4. CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION-
a. A general framework for understanding and practicing consultation, as it is appropriate for a school counselor in an educational setting. Prospective school counselors will develop a personal model of consultation.
7.ASSESSMENT - studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation, including all of the following:
a. historical perspectives concerning the nature and meaning of assessment;
b. basic concepts of standardized and non-standardized testing and other assessment techniques including norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment, environmental assessment, performance assessment, individual and group test and inventory methods, behavioral observations, and computer-managed and computer-assisted methods;
c. statistical concepts, including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, and correlations;
d. reliability (i.e., theory of measurement error, models of reliability, and the use of reliability information);
e. validity (i.e., evidence of validity, types of validity, and the relationship between reliability and validity;
f. age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, disability, culture, spirituality, and other factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations;
g. strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling;
h. an understanding of general principles and methods of case conceptualization, assessment, and/or diagnoses of mental and emotional status; and
i. ethical and legal considerations.
8. RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT
a. Basic concepts and methods of standardized and no-standardized testing and assessment including norm-referenced and criterion referenced assessment and environmental assessment, performance and competency based assessment, individual and group test inventory methods, behavioral observations, and computer assisted methods.
b. Knowledge of statistical concepts, including reliability and validity, scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions and correlations.
c. Strategies for selecting, administering and interpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling, including the impact of age, gender and sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, disability, culture, spirituality, and other factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals groups and specific populations.
3. Consultation
a. strategies to promote, develop, and enhance effective teamwork within the school and larger community;
b. theories, models, and processes of consultation and change with teachers, administrators, other school personnel, parents, community groups, agencies, and students as appropriate;
c. strategies and methods of working with parents, guardians, families, and communities to empower them to act on behalf of their children; and
d. knowledge and skills in conducting programs that are designed to enhance students’ academic, social, emotional, career, and other developmental needs.
NH State Certification Standards for School Counseling Portfolio CO 5430
8b. Knowledge of statistical concepts, including reliability and validity, scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions and correlations.
8c. Strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling, including the impact of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, disability, culture, spirituality, and other factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations.
(4) In the area of consultation and collaboration:
a. A general framework for understanding and practicing consultation, as it is appropriate to the school counselor in an educational setting, including the development of each individual’s personal model of consultation;
b. Strategies to promote, develop, and enhance effective teamwork within the school and larger community;
d. Knowledge of theories, models, and processes of consultation and change involving teachers, administrators, other school personnel, parents, community groups, agencies, and students;
f. Knowledge and skill in conducting programs that are designed to enhance students’ academic, social, emotional, career, and other developmental needs;