STUDY NOTES 9 for PYC4807

Theme 3 Application of assessment in different contexts

Topic 3.2 Assessment in education

General principles and processes of test administration, interpretation and feedback have been
discussed previously. In addition, the following elements have been highlighted in the
prescribed book and Tutorial letter 102 as important in the case of assessment in education:

The context of assessment (school-age learners or higher education);

The aim of assessment - school-age learners (to adopt instructions; to identify special needs)
The aim of assessment - higher education (academic and career planning; selection);
The person-environment fit approach to career counselling;
The different types of measures relevant to educational contexts.

In Tutorial letter 102 relevant types of measures are listed. When the psychologist compiles a
test battery, s/he will first decide what types of measures to include given the aim of the
assessment. Suppose the psychologist decides to include measures of cognition, personality
and interest. S/he selects the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Tests (LPCAT)
(cognition), the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) (personality) and the Self-
directed Search (SDS) (interest). However, you have learned that it is not enough to select a
test that is relevant in terms of the construct being measured. One also needs to consider the
normative information (age, language and culture), the psychometric properties (reliability
and validity) and additional research in the local context.

Exercise: Choose three of the types of measures listed in Table 3.2 in Tutorial letter 102 and
in each case identify and describe an example of this type of measure.

For career counselling, one needs to determine the fit between the characteristics of the client
and the requirements of the career s/he is interested in. One would ask: What should the
‘ideal’ candidate look like in terms of aspects such as general intelligence, aptitude, interest,
and personality and values? A profile of the client would be compiled based on assessment in
terms of these aspects. The job-fit would be determined.

Exercise: Choose a career that you are interested in. In your opinion, what are the
requirements for job-fit in terms of general intelligence, aptitude, interest, personality and
values?

To be continued …
Study notes 10 will be on Topic 3.3 Assessment in organisational contexts. In Tutorial Letter
102 an overview of the topic is provided. For more detail on each aspect, specific resources
are noted where relevant.

Now study
Topic 3.3 in Tutorial Letter 102; and
Chapter 15 (section 15.2) in the prescribed book.