Home | Clinical Café Archive | June 2004

Insights from Pearson Assessments —Know the Code!

Clinical Café by Tina J. Eichstadt, M.S., CCC-SLP

June 2004 Clinical Café by Tina J. Eichstadt, M.S., CCC-SLP

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Quickly, before you run out the door for the summer . . .  are you ready for the fall testing of your students and prospective students? "Are you serious?" you ask. "I'm still wrapping up spring testing right now. I'm not even thinking about September yet!" Well, that works too. Whether you're surviving in June or looking ahead to September with purchases, plans, and protocols, take the next two minutes to read this month's Clinical Cafe!

The world of testing in education is big—bigger now than it has been in the past. Students deserve our best; we need to think ever clearer about what we do in testing and how we do it. Pearson's Assessment group staff receives calls and emails daily from customers with questions like these and more: "Which test is appropriate?" "How do I administer and score this test?" "How do I accurately report and interpret these results?" "What do I need to tell test takers?" Similarly, Pearson's Assessment group asks many of the same questions between one another in the test development process: "How do we know we've built an appropriate and relevant test?" "How do we make administration and scoring crystal clear and easy?" "What information and guidance can we provide that will streamline interpretation and reporting?" "What is our role in informing test users and/or test takers about our tests?"

The Joint Committee on Testing Practices, an interdisciplinary group from multiple national organizations including ASHA, drafted guidelines called the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (2005). The Code was just completed this year and adopted by the ASHA Legislative Council, and is consistent with the ASHA Code of Ethics. The whole document is relatively brief, not even five full pages (and it's mostly in tables  . . .  easy!). Four sections help answer the above questions with specific information for both test developers and test users:

1. Developing and Selecting Appropriate Tests
2. Administering and Scoring Tests
3. Reporting and Interpreting Test Results
4. Informing Test Takers

As a professional in the field of communication disorders, where a lot of testing is completed, the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education is for you. It will trigger your memory, teach you something new, make you want to grab a highlighter or run to the copy machine for your next staff meeting. Keep it handy. Share it with colleagues. Put the test you use up against this Code and see how it measures up. Ask good questions and keep the answers. Test developers (like Pearson) and test users (like you) together need to know the Code.

To get your copy of the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (2005), follow these directions:

1. Go to www.asha.org.
2. Hold your mouse over the top of the "For ASHA Members Only" link and watch the drop-down list appear.
3. Drag your mouse down to the item, "ASHA Desk Reference" and click once.
4. Login into the Members Only section with your email address and password (ASHA Members only).
5. On the ASHA Desk Reference page, click on "Volume 1: Cardinal Documents of the Association."
6. At the bottom of the page, under the subheading "Relevant Papers," click on the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education (2005).
7. When the popup window opens, choose Open or Save.
8. View the .pdf document (you need Adobe Acrobat Reader) and print.

Easy!

P.S. You may have been thinking, "I thought she was going to write about the ASHA Code of Ethics—THAT code." Of course, that applies here too. As mentioned above, the ASHA Code of Ethics was used in the development of this document. Both apply to the testing situation, but the Code of Fair Testing in Education (2005) is much more specific to actual tests and testing situations. The bottom line? You need both!

Send us your "What I'd like to learn about tests this summer" list

As your partner in testing, we'd like you to know what we do, how we do it, and why. In turn, we'd like to know what other information we can provide to help you in your jobs. So send us your "What I'd like to learn about tests this summer" list to webmaster@agsnet.com and we'll try to fulfill your wishes.

Have a great kick-off to summer!

SLP Discussion Center

As always, we'd like to thank you for your ongoing service to people with communication needs and to remind you that we are here to support you in that effort. If you'd like to discuss this topic further, please feel free to use the SLP Discussion Center as the vehicle for an ongoing discussion with your colleagues. Should you have questions regarding these or other Pearson Speech and Language products, we welcome your phone calls at 800-627-7271 or use our web site at http://ags.pearsonassessments.com.