The following are basic guidelines for the assignment.
- the compare/contrast test reviews – should be written with the following major objectives in mind:
- To provide practitioners with carefully prepared appraisals of tests for their guidance in selecting and using tests.
- To provide a practical medium for ongoing education and professionalization of counselling and student services practitioners concerning the appropriate and constructive use of tests.
- To stimulate progress toward higher professional standards of test construction by commending good work, by censuring poor work, and by suggesting improvements.
- Reviews of both instruments should be critical, with both strengths and weaknesses judiciously pointed out. Descriptive comments should be kept to the minimum necessary to support the critical portions of the review. Criticism should be explicit; implied criticisms meaningful only to testing specialists should be avoided. An indication of the relative importance and value of a test with respect to competing instruments will help users to choose tests more wisely. If a reviewer considers a competing instrument better than the two being reviewed, the competing instrument should be specifically named.
- Reviewers are asked to study any literature previously published and where relevant and address it in each review.
- Clearly indicate the tests and forms reviewed.
- Each review should conclude with a paragraph presenting a concise summary of the reviewer’s overall evaluation of both the measures. This summary should be as explicit as possible. Is the test the best of its kind? Is it recommended for use? If so, for what uses? For what populations? Are there crucial limitations? How does the test measure multicultural populations? If other devices are better for major uses, which of the competing instruments is best?
- You do not need to be limited to the tests I have put on Canvas – tests can be published in journal articles. You do not necessarily need to know the test or be able to use the test to review it.
- A good source of information on tests is the following: http://www.unl.edu/buros/
- You do not have to review different tests than your classmates – but I expect your work to be independent
