TACKLIN’ Assessment

TACKLIN’ AssessmentTherapists Actively Consulting & Knowledgeably Leading INdiana

Psychometric Data: Misunderstanding and Misuse

Assessment requires forethought, expertise and knowledge of how to choose the tools used and interpretation of the results. Students who have limited access to language as well as children with delayed  language development may present as lower functioning than their true abilities. Educators should use caution when interpreting results for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This is especially true for those who may be misidentified as having intellectual challenges. Sometimes we find that these challenges impacting their acquisition of language and subsequent skill development may be due to other factors. Some of those factors could be lack of opportunities to develop language, such as poor access to language in the environment (e.g. amplification, skilled interpreter, etc.), lack of typical peer language models and limited enriching educational experiences.

A Case Conference Committee decision cannot be made on one statistic alone. Because people, not instruments, make decisions, the instrument is only as good as the clinician using it.

Qualified clinical judgment plays a critical role!

  

A … common misuse of classification concerns misleading assumptions regarding precision of scores. ... Although the statistical reliability of most scales … is well established before the test is published, it is still important … that professionals carefully consider the possible statistical error in any score, the variability in scores across different tests, and the importance of the [student’s] physical limitations, motivation, and cultural background.  

-Schalock et al. (2010, pp. 81-82)

… the knowledge required to  answer the verbal questions, for example, gets in the way of measuring the child’s ability to think (intelligence)...-Jack Naglieri

I was taught that cognitive ability tests measure attainment, the sum of formal and informal learning experiences and  opportunities. -Mark Shinn