Diagnostic assessment in Child Psychology

Introduction


In relation to Mr. Prince, diagnostic assessment makes way for school psychologist like himself to make decision on students' individual knowledge, strength, weaknesses, and skills before instruction. Diagnosing students' difficulties as well as guiding curriculum and lesson planning are assisted by it.



Nonbiased Formal and Informal Diagnostic Assessments


Concerning the response to the question on the matter of criteria and distinguishing factors of nonbiased formal and informal diagnostic assessments, Mr. Prince made it clear that formal diagnostic assessment have specific data that support various conclusions made from the tests. Also, these tests have been tested on students before and conclusions made were supported by various statistics. In another form, Mr. prince said that data are not driven by the informal diagnostic assessments but rather the data were driven by students' performance and content. Mr. Prince further said that the choice of a given assessment method depends on its ability to match the assessment purpose. The formal diagnostic assessments are useful in assessing the students’ overall achievement, as well as comparing their performances. On the other hand, informal diagnostic assessments are useful in informing instructions.



Examples of Nonbiased Formal Diagnostic Assessments


According to Mr. Prince, examples of nonbiased formal diagnostic assessments are individual intelligence tests which get administered to students with exceptionalities one on one. One of the individual intelligence tests in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The test assists Mr. Prince in measuring the intelligence of students with exceptionalities in various areas, including spatial and linguistic intelligence. Another nonbiased test used by Mr. Prince in assessing individuals with exceptionalities is the Standard Binet Intelligence Scale which allows for designing of questions that are helpful in grading the students’ performances based on their cognitive abilities.



Examples of Nonbiased Informal Diagnostic Assessments


Mr. Prince said that some of the examples of nonbiased informal diagnostic assessments include group intelligence tests and skill evaluations. When administering the group intelligence tests to individuals with exceptionalities, Mr. Prince said that the administration of such tests requires a classroom environment, and it is through such tests that he might first detect the kind of disability possessed by a given student. The group intelligence tests, as described by Mr. Prince, help in measuring the cognitive level as well as academic ability among the students with exceptionalities. According to Mr. Prince, the evaluation tests get administered to students with exceptionalities to determine their gross motor skills, language abilities, as well as manipulative skills. The evaluation process involves the physical collection of evidence required for the development of individual education program.



Interpreting Assessment Results


Mr. Prince said that the interpretation of the information from formal nonbiased diagnostic assessment takes various aspects into consideration. According to Mr. Prince, the formal nonbiased diagnostic assessments have an overall IQ score with different scales. Every assessment is different, but the scale will usually focus on the students' nonverbal, verbal, and spatial abilities, as well as their processing speed and memory. Every scale has subtests that help in measuring various aspects of the students' abilities, thereby making it easy for interpretation. According to Mr. Prince, interpreting the information from informal nonbiased diagnostic assessments involves observing the students' reasoning, thinking, and interaction with others. Interpreting the information from informal diagnostic assessments may also require conducting additional interviews with other people who are close to the students in question, such as teachers and parents so as to enable the psychologist to have the full picture of the student's limitations and strengths.



Use of Assessment Information


According to Mr. Prince, the assessment information is used in making eligibility program and placement decision for persons with exceptionalities in different ways. Through the assessments, psychologists gain an accurate picture of the student’s individual performance, thereby helping in the design process of an individual education program for the students with exceptionalities. Since a single test cannot capture a full spectrum of a student’s challenges and strengths, the use of multiple tests guides the psychologists on how to offer the best support and services to individuals with exceptionalities.



Communicating Assessment Results


In response to the question regarding the strategies in communicating assessment results to stakeholders, Mr. Prince said that communicating the assessment results to various stakeholders is a valuable, challenging, and a necessary part of the assessment process. According to Mr. Prince, one needs only to include the essential information when communicating assessment results to various stakeholders. Additionally, the report regarding the assessment result has to be thorough, and as non-technical as possible. Mr. Prince also emphasized the need to avoid over-generalization when communicating assessment results to various stakeholders.



Reflection and Summary


My interview with Mr. Prince, the school psychologist, was not only interesting but also enjoyable as he spent ample time listening to my diagnostic assessment questions and responding comprehensively. Mr. Prince made it clear to me that the primary role of diagnostic assessment is to help in diagnosing various difficulties faced by students as well as guide lesson and curriculum planning. Additionally, the interview with Mr. Prince provided an insight to the to the topic of diagnostic assessment as well as revealed the significance of having school psychologists within the learning environment.


Prince said that formal diagnostic assessments have specific data that support various conclusions made from the tests. Additionally, according to Mr. Prince, examples of nonbiased formal diagnostic assessments are individual intelligence tests which get administered to students with exceptionalities one on one, and some of the examples of nonbiased informal diagnostic assessments include group intelligence tests and skill evaluations. According to Mr. Prince, interpreting the information from informal nonbiased diagnostic assessments involves observing the students' reasoning, thinking, and interaction with others. Through diagnostic assessments, psychologists gain an accurate picture of the student’s individual performance, thereby helping in the design process of an individual education program for the students with exceptionalities. Mr. Prince emphasized that communicating the assessment results to various stakeholders is a valuable, challenging, and a critical part of the diagnostic assessment process, and one needs only to include the essential information when communicating assessment results to various stakeholders.

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