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Psychological assessment guides are created by psychologyprofessionals to provide the public with accurate and authoritativeinformation appropriate for their current needs. Information availableto the public about psychological testing and assessment varies widelydepending on the professional creating it, the purpose of theassessment, and the intended audience. When professionals effectivelyeducate the public on the how, what, and whybehind assessments and the strengths and limitations of commonly usedinstruments, potential clients are in a better position to be informedusers of assessment products and services. The Assessment Guidesdeveloped in this course will be designed to provide the lay public withaccurate and culturally relevant information to aid them in makinginformed decisions about psychological testing. Students will developtheir Guides with the goal of educating readers to be informedparticipants in the assessment process.

There is no required template for the development of the AssessmentGuide. Students are encouraged to be creative while maintaining theprofessional appearance of their work. The Guide must be reader-friendly(sixth- to ninth-grade reading level) and easy to navigate, and it mustinclude a combination of text, images, and graphics to engage readersin the information provided. Throughout their Guides, students willprovide useful examples and definitions as well as questions readersshould ask their practitioners. To ensure accuracy, students areexpected to use only scholarly and peer-reviewed sources for theinformation in the development of their Guides.

Students will begin their Guides with a general overview ofassessment, reasons for assessment referrals, and the importance of therole of each individual in the process. Within each of the remainingsections, students will describe the types of assessments that theirreaders may encounter, the purposes of each type of assessment, thedifferent skills and abilities the instruments measure, the most validand reliable uses of the measures, and limitations of the measures. Abrief section will be included to describe the assessment process, thetypes of professionals who conduct the assessments, and what to expectduring the assessment meetings.

The Assessment Guide must include the following sections:

Table of Contents (Portrait orientation must be used for the page layout of this section.)
In this one-page section, students must list the following subsections and categories of assessments.

• Introduction and Overview
• Tests of Intelligence
• Tests of Achievement
• Tests of Ability
• Neuropsychological Testing
• Personality Testing
• Industrial, Occupational, and Career Assessment
• Forensic Assessment
• Special Topics (student’s choice)
• References

Section 1: Introduction and Overview (Portrait or landscape orientation may be used for the page layout of this section.)
Students will begin their Guides with a general overview of assessment.In this two-page section, students will briefly address the majoraspects of the assessment process. Students are encouraged to developcreative titles for these topics that effectively communicate themeanings to the intended audience.

• Definition of a Test (e.g., What is a Test?)
• Briefly define psychological assessment.
• Types of Tests
• Identify the major categories of psychological assessment.
• Reliability and Validity
• Briefly define the concepts of reliability and validity as they apply to psychological assessment.
• Role of testing and assessment in the diagnostic process
• Briefly explain role of assessment in diagnosis.
• Professionals Who Administer Tests
• Briefly describe the types of professionals involved in various assessment processes.
• Culture and Testing
• Briefly describe issues of cultural diversity as it applies to psychological assessment.

Categories of Assessment (Portrait or landscape orientation may be used for the page layout of this section.)
For each of the following, students will create a two-page informationsheet or pamphlet to be included in the Assessment Guide. For eachcategory of assessment, students will include the required contentlisted in the PSY640 Content for Testing Pamphlets and Information Sheets (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Be sure to reference the content requirements (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. prior to completing each of the information sheets on the following categories of assessment.

• Tests of Intelligence
• Tests of Achievement
• Tests of Ability
• Neuropsychological Testing
• Personality Testing
• Industrial, Occupational, and Career Assessment
• Forensic Assessment
• Special Topics (Students will specify which topic they selected forthis pamphlet or information sheet. Additional instructions are notedbelow.)

Special Topics (Student’s Choice)
In addition to the requiredseven categories of assessment listed above, students will develop aneighth information sheet or pamphlet that includes information targetedeither at a specific population or about a specific issue related topsychological assessment not covered in one of the previous sections.Students may choose from one of the following categories:

• Testing Preschool-Aged Children
• Testing Elementary School-Aged Children
• Testing Adolescents
• Testing Geriatric Patients
• Testing First Generation Immigrants
• Testing in Rural Communities
• Testing English Language Learners
• Testing Individuals Who Are (Select one: Deaf, Blind, Quadriplegic)
• Testing Individuals Who Are Incarcerated
• Testing for Competency to Stand Trial
• Testing in Child Custody Cases

References (Portrait orientation must be used for the page layout of this section.)
Include a separate reference section that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Thereference list must consist entirely of scholarly sources. For thepurposes of this assignment, assessment manuals, the course textbook,chapters from graduate-level textbooks, chapters from professionalbooks, and peer-reviewed journal articles may be used as resourcematerial. A minimum of 16 unique scholarly sources including a minimumof 12 peer-reviewed articles published within the last 10 years from theAshford University Library must be used within the Assessment Guide.The bulleted list of credible professional and/or educational onlineresources required for each assessment area will not count toward thesetotals.

Attention Students: The Masters of Arts inPsychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as arepository for student scholarly work in the form of signatureassignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback forthis Assessment Guide, please implement any changes recommended by theinstructor, go to Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.and upload the revised Assessment Guide to the portfolio. (Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload ofsignature assignments will take place after completing each course. Becertain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the programas the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and maybe used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.

The Assessment Guide

• Must be 18 pages in length (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of guide
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least 16 scholarly sources, including a minimum of 12 peer-reviewed articles from the Ashford University Library.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must incorporate at least three different methods of presenting information (e.g., text, graphics, images, original cartoons).