CPCE Assessment and Testing 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A school counselor uses a checklist completed by teachers, parents, and the student to assess ADHD symptoms. This method is best described as:
- Projective assessment
- Multi-informant assessment (Correct answer)
- Criterion-referenced testing
- Ipsative assessment
Correct answer: Multi-informant assessment
Multi-informant assessment collects data from multiple raters across different settings to provide a comprehensive picture of behavior.
Question 2: Which projective technique asks respondents to create stories about ambiguous pictures?
- Rorschach Inkblot Test
- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Correct answer)
- Sentence Completion Test
- Draw-A-Person Test
Correct answer: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) presents ambiguous pictures and asks respondents to construct narratives, which are then analyzed for themes.
Question 3: On a normally distributed test, approximately what percentage of scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean?
- 50%
- 68% (Correct answer)
- 95%
- 99.7%
Correct answer: 68%
In a normal distribution, approximately 68% of all scores fall within one standard deviation above and below the mean.
Question 4: A counselor who interprets test results without considering the client's cultural background is most at risk of committing:
- Test-retest inflation
- Cultural bias in assessment (Correct answer)
- Item discrimination error
- Regression to the mean
Correct answer: Cultural bias in assessment
Ignoring cultural context when interpreting test results can lead to culturally biased conclusions that misrepresent a client's abilities or traits.
Question 5: A counselor wants to measure a client's anxiety both before and after a 10-week treatment program. Which assessment strategy is MOST appropriate?
- Cross-sectional survey at posttest only
- Pre-post design using standardized self-report measures (Correct answer)
- Single clinical interview at program end
- Retrospective self-report at intake only
Correct answer: Pre-post design using standardized self-report measures
A pre-post design using the same standardized instrument captures change over time and allows comparison of scores before and after the intervention.
Question 6: Which type of reliability is estimated by correlating scores from two equivalent forms of the same test administered at the same time?
- Test-retest reliability
- Internal consistency
- Alternate-forms reliability (Correct answer)
- Inter-rater reliability
Correct answer: Alternate-forms reliability
Alternate-forms (or parallel-forms) reliability is assessed by administering two different versions of a test and correlating the resulting scores.
Question 7: The standard error of measurement (SEM) is MOST useful for:
- Comparing a test to its norm group
- Constructing confidence intervals around an obtained score (Correct answer)
- Determining the factor structure of a test
- Identifying culturally biased items
Correct answer: Constructing confidence intervals around an obtained score
The SEM quantifies the precision of a score, enabling counselors to construct a confidence interval that estimates the range of a client's true score.
CPCE Assessment and Testing 4
A school counselor uses a checklist completed by teachers, parents, and the student to assess ADHD symptoms.
This method is best described as: