Individual Assessment History (Whole Group)

Introduction:

Our lives are filled with assessments, reports, tests, and other evaluative measures. Understanding the validity of these, and our own perspective about the meaning of those test for our lives can sometimes be discrepant. We will look at this in terms of learning the importance that tests and assessments have on our perception of ourselves compared to the actual intended validity and purpose of the assessment.

Directions:

1. Be sure that you have completed the assigned readings.
    
2. By Saturday, post a response in the whole group discussion forum titled, Week 5: Individual Assessment History, by responding to the prompt below:
   
   Name one test that you have taken in your past and consider valuable enough to consider using as a counselor, and then read critical reviews of that test (web and online databases are both valid resources as long as they are professional sites). Summarize the results of what you found from reviewers about the validity of the test. You are welcome to use the online databases as well as the web for resources – just correctly reference the site(s) you got your information from! Please make this post short and succinct. After determining the validity, write what your expectations were of the specific assessment at the time you took it. In other words, did you perceive them as predictive? Was the assessment meant to be predictive? Would this be a valuable tool for you to use? 
    
3. Revisit the discussion forum multiple times throughout the week and contribute at least two additional substantive postings to two different students by Monday. Be sure that you are substantially discussing the information with your classmates, and not just agreeing or disagreeing with them. Short comments or acknowledgements will not earn the points desired for a passing grade.

Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) Instrument Evaluation (Whole Group)

Introduction:

The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) is a commonly used assessment in many different counseling arenas. It’s simplicity and speed are pluses for busy counselors. This evaluation will help you to understand if it measures what it purports to measure, and if it can be accurately used for a wide audience.

Directions:

1. Be sure that you have completed the assigned readings.
    
2. Review the information below about the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), and corresponding questions.
    
3. By Saturday, post a response in the whole group forum titled Week 5: Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) by responding to the questions included in the information below.
    
4. After you have the six questions answered, discuss the issues involved, and whether or not the SEI would be a good fit for the population you intend to work with.
    
5. Revisit the discussion forum multiple times throughout the week, discuss the issues involved, and whether or note the BDI would be a good fit for the population you intend to work with. Each student should have posted at least three times to this discussion by the end of the week.

Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI)

You are an middle school counselor who is starting a new group aimed at enhancing self-concept in students. You work at a large urban school with a culturally and linguistically diverse population of students. You have heard about the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), but you’re not sure if it’s the appropriate instrument to use.

After reviewing information below about the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), answer the questions that follow.

Description:

The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI; Coopersmith, 1981) measures evaluative attitudes toward the self in social, academic, family, and personal areas of experience. Coopersmith defined self-esteem as a judgment of worthiness that is expressed by the attitudes he or she holds toward the self. He believes that self-esteem is significantly associated with effective functioning, such as school performance.
Each questionnaire presents respondents with generally favorable or generally unfavorable statements about the self, which they indicate as “like me” or “unlike me.” The School Form is a 50-item inventory designed for 8- to 15-year-old children. It has provides a Total Self Score as well as scores on four subscales: General Self (Gen), Social Self/Peers (Soc), Home/Parents (H), and School/Academic (Sch). The School Form is accompanied by an 8-item Lie Scale to assess defensiveness. The School Short Form is comprised of 25 items from the School Form. The Adult Form is an adaptation of the School Short Form for individuals over 15 years of age.
Administration time rarely exceeds 10 minutes. The instrument can be hand scored in a few minute using scoring keys. For interpretation, high scores correspond to high self-esteem. A high Lie scale score suggests defensiveness (indicates that the test taker attempted to respond positively to all items).

Technical Information
Norm Group: The SEI was administered to 643 public school children in grades 3 through 8. The sample consisted primarily of students from the lower and middle upper socioeconomic ranges. The test manual stated that, “a considerable number of Spanish surnamed and Black children were included in the sample.” The manual strongly recommends that users develop local norm groups.

Reliability
Test-retest: The test-retest reliability coefficient after a 5 week interval (with a sample of 30 5th graders) was .88. Test-retest reliability after a three year interval (with a sample of 56 public school children) was .70.
Internal consistency: Studies reported KR20 coefficients ranging from .87 to 92 on scores for school children in grades 4 to 8.
Alternate forms: A study comparing the SEI to a Canadian version of the test (using a sample of 198 children in 3rd through 6th grades) found correlation coefficients ranging from .71 to .80.

Validity
Content Validity Evidence: Most of the items on the SEI School form were adapted from scale items used by Rogers and Dymond (1954) in their classic study of nondirective psychotherapy; several original items were also included. All of the statements were worded for use with children aged eight to ten. Five psychologists sorted the items into two groups—those indicative of high self-esteem and those indicative of low self-esteem. Items that seemed repetitious or ambiguous, or about which there was disagreement, were eliminated.

Concurrent Validity Evidence: SEI scores correlated with the SRA Achievement Series and the Lorge Thorndike Intelligence Test at .33 and .30 respectively.

Predictive Validity Evidence: Reading Gifted Evaluation Scale (a measure of reading achievement) scores correlated with the SEI General Self Subscale and Lie Scale scores at .35 and .39 respectively.

Convergent validity Evidence: Correlation between SEI scores and the California Psychological Inventory Self-Acceptance Scale was .45.

Subscale Intercorrelations (internal structure):
General Self Social Self-Peers Home-Parents School-Academic Lie Scale*
General Self ― .49 .52 .42 -.02
Social Self-Peers ― .28 .29 -.09
Home-Parents ― .45 -.04
School-Academic ― -.12

Questions:

1. Describe and evaluate the norm group. Do you think it is representative? Do you think the norm group is current? Do you believe the size of the norm group was large enough? Is the sample related to the population you intend to use the test with? Explain.
2. Describe and evaluate each method used to estimate reliability. Does the reliability evidence support a decision to use the instrument? Explain.
3. Describe and evaluate each type of validity evidence. Does the validity evidence support a decision to use the instrument? Explain.
4. Describe the practical aspects of the instrument.
5. Summarize the strengths and weakness of the inventory.
6. Based on your review of the SII, would you adopt this instrument? Explain your answer.

Coopersmith, S. (1981). Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories: Manual. Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden, Inc.

Assignment: Weekly Quizzes (Individual)

Introduction:

There is a quiz each week that is taken directly from the textbook, and covers items you will need to know to prepare you for the NCE exam. The quiz contains all multiple choice questions, and they come directly from the text. These are open book, open note quizzes, and they must be completed by the end of each week.
 

Each quiz will reset on Sunday, for anyone who needs to retake it. You may retake it for more new questions, or you may retake it to increase your grade. In either case, when there are two grades, the highest grade will be used for your final grade. If there is one grade, that will be used. Taking it twice cannot harm your grade. Correct answers are posted after the quiz is no longer available for a grade; which is two weeks following the week it was made available.
 

Directions:

1. Review the directions and scoring tool for this assignment, located on the Syllabus page.
    
2. Be sure that you have completed the assigned readings and have your book with you when you take the quiz.
    
3. To take this week's quiz, click on Gradebook and then click on "Quiz 6."
    
4. Complete and submit the quiz by the end of this week.
    
5. If you need or wish to retake the quiz, click on "Gradebook" and then click on "Quiz 6 Retake."