SYLLABUS
Testing & Client Assessment
Instructor: Edward Neukrug, Ed.D.
Course Number: Coun 645
Course Title: Testing and Client Assessment
Course Description: The focus of this class is on major concepts and principles of
psychological testing and evaluation and the use of standardized instruments with differing
populations.
Purpose of Course: To have counselor trainees obtain a basic understanding of the nature of
psychological and educational assessment, to examine how assessment has influenced our lives
and how clinical assessment can significantly affect the clients with whom we work.
Course Objectives/Competencies:
1) To consider the "purpose" of assessment in educational and agency settings.
2) To examine the historical roots of testing and assessment.
3) To examine social, professional, ethical, and legal concerns related to testing and
assessment and to become particularly sensitive to issues of confidentiality, informed
consent, and invasion of privacy issues.
4) To understand proper test administration and test interpretation.
5) To understand the concepts of norm-referenced and standardized testing.
6) To understand the concepts of test worthiness, including: reliability, validity,
practicality, and cross-cultural fairness.
7) To become proficient at basic methodological and statistical principles related to testing
including: frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, measures of variability,
correlation coefficients, and factor analysis.
8) To examine the use of assessment instruments in the following domains: educational
assessment, assessment of cognitive functioning including intelligence testing and
neuropsychological assessment, career and occupational assessment, clinical assessment,
and informal assessment.
9) To apply knowledge of assessment in the following ways: as consultant to other
professionals, in assisting clients in their learning process and their psychological
growth, as supervisor to others who are administering tests, as a developer of needs
assessment techniques, and as an evaluator of treatment approaches and counseling
programs.
10) To learn clinical interviewing techniques and mental status assessments.
11) To learn the basics of diagnosis using DSM-IV-TR and how it can be helpful in the
assessment of clients.
12) To learn the purposes and content of written test reports.
Course Requirements:
1) To read, from the textbook, about the nature of tests.
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
To conduct a clinical assessment and mental status exam.
To finish all homework assignments relative to test statistics.
To take two tests to evaluate learning.
To complete a test report using several of the tests discussed during the semester.
E-mail access: Students must have a working e-mail address that they will check prior to
each class.
Accommodating Students with Special Learning Needs:
In accordance with university policy, a student who wishes to receive some instructional
accommodation, because of a documented sensory and/or learning disability, should meet with
the instructor to discuss this accommodation.
Attendance: You decide.
Grading:
Point Spread for Grade Determination
92.1..to..100.....=..A.......................78..to..79.9..=..B90.....to....92.....=..A-......................75..to..77.9..=..C+
85.....to....89.9..=..B+.....................70..to..74.9..=..C
80.....to....84.9..=..B........................68..to..69.9..=..CFinal Grade:
33% for First Test
33% for Second Test
33% Paper
Honors Pledge:
“I pledge to support the honor system of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form
of academic dishonest or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member
of the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the honor
system. I will report to Honor Council hearings if summoned.” By attending Old Dominion
University you have accepted the responsibility to abide by this code. This is an institutional
policy approved by the Board of Visitors.
Instructor Contact:
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9 – 5, by appointment
E-mail: eneukrug@odu.edu
Office: Education 249-2
Phone: 683-6497; Cell: 617-4965
Course Sequencing and Prerequisites: Students should have taken or be currently enrolled in
Coun 601 and Coun 633 and be admitted to the Counseling Program. All others must obtain
permission from the instructor.
Class References:
Text: Neukrug, E., & Fawcett, R (2010). Essentials of testing and assessment: A practical guide
for counselors, social workers, and psychologists (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Optional Text: American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of
mental disorders (text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
Tests from Bookstore:
1. 16PF
2. Wide Range Achievement Test
3. Strong Interest Inventory
Course Readings:
Class 1: History of Testing and Assessment (Chapter 1)
Class 2: Test Worthiness: Validity, Reliability, Practicality, and Cross-cultural Fairness (Chapter
3)
Class 3: Statistical Concepts: Making Meaning Out of Test Scores (Chapter 4)
Class 4: Statistical Concepts: Making Meaning Out of Test Scores (Chapter 4).
Statistical Concepts: Deriving Meaning Out of Test Scores (Chapter 5)
Class 5: Statistical Concepts: Deriving Meaning Out of Test Scores (Chapter 5)
Class 6: Statistical Concepts: Deriving Meaning Out of Test Scores (Chapter 5)
Class 7: Midterm
Class 8: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Assessment (Chapter 2).
Diagnosis in the Assessment Process (Chapter 11)
Class 9: The Assessment Report Process (Chapter 12)
Educational Assessment of Ability: Readiness, Survey Battery, Diagnostic (Chapter 6)
Class 10: Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning: Intelligence Testing and Neuropsychological
Assessment (Chapters 7)
Class 11: Career and Occupational Assessment: Interest Inventories, Special and Multiple
Aptitude Testing (Chapter 8)
Class 12: Clinical Assessment: Objective and Projective Testing (Chapter 9)
Class 13: Informal Assessment (Chapter 10)
Class 14: Final (Chapter 12 not included on exam)
Chapter 15: Final reports due.
Test Report:
You are asked to hand in a three or four page (maximum) single-spaced case report that
incorporates a clinical interview of an individual and uses a minimum of four tests or assessment
instruments. If testing a late adolescent or adult, the report must include the BDI, the SASSI, the
16PF, the WRAT-III, and a KFD and/or sentence completion. If testing a child, the report must
include the Coopersmith, WRAT-III, the KFD, a sentence completion, and the child’s most
recent achievement test scores and/or grades. Other tests can also be added at your discretion.
Your report should include all test categories listed in Box 12.4, pp. 275-276 of Chapter 12 of the
text.
The contents of this communication are the sole responsibility of Ed Neukrug and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of Old
Dominion University. Updated on August 31, 2009. Ed Neukrug is responsible for the maintenance of this page. Address: College of Education,
Counseling Program, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23507. E-mail: eneukrug@odu.edu.
.