NCJ Number
80482
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 43 Issue: 6 Dated: (November/December 1981) Pages: 30,32,34,36
Date Published
1981
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes an inservice training program for correctional personnel to improve their psychological testing skills.
Abstract
It should not be assumed that correctional personnel who regularly use psychological testing in the assessment of criminal offenders have the skills to perform such testing proficiently. The psychological testing training program described consisted of an assessment program for measuring current test administration skills plus a training sequence to bring poor performers up to a high level of competence in test administration and interpretation. In the assessment, current knowledge of testing was determined by measuring participants' ability to recall general facts about testing and specific information about four psychological tests used regularly. Knowledge was also measured by examining the participants' ability to recognize and correct errors made in the administration and interpretation of the four tests. Measures of test administration and interpretation skills were conducted by means of role-playing sessions using behavioral rating scales for the assessment of these skills. Several months after the assessment, the participants attended a 3-day workshop designed to increase competency in test administration and interpretation. The sessions consisted of (1) didactic coverage of reliability and validity in test construction, administration, and interpretation; (2) a discussion of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; (3) a discussion of Cattell's 16PF Test; (4) the introduction of a behavioral assessment model designed to use interview assessment data as a complement to testing data; and (5) a quiz on the material covered and an indepth discussion of the case reports given as homework. The 25-item questionnaire given in the initial assessment was administered at the conclusion of the training to assess improvement. Findings showed significant improvement in participants' skills in testing administration and interpretation. Eleven references are listed.