Individual Assessment

PP6001

Individual Assessment

Spring 2009

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Argosy University

COURSE SYLLABUS

PP6001

Individual Assessment

Faculty Information

Faculty Name: Steve Miller

Campus: Chicago

Office:Room 1364

Telephone:(312) 777-7658

Email:

Office Hours: T:3:30 – 4:30

W:10:00 – 12:00, 3:30 – 4:30

Th:10:00 – 12:00

Short Faculty Bio:Prior to coming to Argosy, I taught at California State University, Fullerton, where my appointment was in the area of applied quantitative psychology. Prior to my time in California, I was a graduate student in social psychology at Loyola University Chicago, where I completed a Ph.D. I also completed masters’ degrees in clinical psychology (Illinois State) and statistics (Loyola). My research has focused on the relationship between personality and emotion, as well as on statistical techniques for psychological research.

Course description: A broad understanding of group and individual educational and psychometric theories and approaches to appraisal is the goal of this course; also examined are data and information gathering methods, validity and reliability, psychometric statistics, factors influencing appraisals, and use of appraisal results in helping processes. Also, the specific ability to administer and interpret tests and inventories to assess abilities, interests, and identify career options is considered.

Course Pre-requisites: None

Required Textbooks:

Robert F. DeVellis

Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc., 2nd edition (2003)

ISBN-10: 0761926054

ISBN-13: 978-0761926054

Psychological Testing

by Susana Urbina (Author), Anne Anastasi (Author), 721 pages

Publisher: Prentice Hall; 7th edition (1996)

ISBN-10: 0023030852

ISBN-13: 978-0023030857

Psychological Testing [Study Guide] (Paperback)

by Susana Urbina (Author), Anne Anastasi (Author), Paperback, 268 pages

Publisher: Prentice Hall; 7th edition (1997)

ISBN-10: 0132573210

ISBN-13: 978-0132573214

Recommended

Groth-Marnat, Gary, (2003), Handbook of Psychological Assessment, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ISBN: 0471419796

Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat (full version); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Course length: 15 Weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Program Outcomes: The Master’s Program in Clinical Psychology has been designed to educate and train students to enter a professional career as MA level practitioners. ArgosyUniversity, Chicago Campus provides students an educational program with all the necessary theoretical and clinical elements that will allow them to be effective members of a mental health team. The program introduces students to basic clinical skills that integrate individual and group theoretical foundations of applied psychology into appropriate client interactions and intervention skills. At the end of the syllabus, please read additional information

In addition, the Program offers excellent preparation for those considering application to the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.

Course Goals and Objectives:

1.To help you develop competency in understanding basic psychometric properties (norms, standardization, reliability, validity) involved in psychological assessment

2.To help you learn more about research and statistical procedures used in test development, administration, and scoring

3.To raise your awareness of the ethical, legal, and socio-cultural issues as they relate to tests, test theory, and application

4.To help you learn more about issues related to practical applications, including test administration and evaluation in a variety of mental health settings

Classroom environment expectations:

The instructor has the following expectations of his students:

a. To be present, punctual, prepared, and attentive during each class.

b. To be willing to participate positively and constructively in class.

c. To understand and abide by the procedures, regulations, and schedules described in this syllabus.

d. To assume ownership of one’s ideas, opinions, values, etc.

The students can have the following expectations of their instructor:

a. To be present, punctual, prepared, and enthusiastic during each class.

b. To be genuinely concerned about students' ability to perform well.

c. To remain faithful to the procedures, regulations, and schedules described in this syllabus.

d. To provide a classroom structure to encourage student learning.

e. Be a co-learner in the education process.

f.To be sensitive to student and group needs.

Library Resources

ArgosyUniversity’s core online collection features more than 21,000 full-text journals, 23,000 electronic books and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences.All electronic resources can be accessed through the library’s website at User IDs and passwords are distributed during orientation, but can also be obtained at the circulation desk, calling 312-777-7653, or by e-mail at .

In addition to online resources, ArgosyUniversity’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Library Online Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections.Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance from campus librarians.

Information Literacy: ArgosyUniversity’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach fundamental and transferable research skills, including selecting sources appropriate for academic-level research, searching periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluating and citing information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at

Academic Policies

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, ArgosyUniversity requires that the submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). WashingtonDC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as consult the ArgosyUniversity catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Scholarly writing: The faculty at ArgosyUniversity is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” ( an online resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share common information and duplicative language.

Americans with Disabilities Act Policy

It is the policy of ArgosyUniversity to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.

Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.

The ArgosyUniversity Statement Regarding Diversity

ArgosyUniversity prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both the academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Course and major requirements:

Major Course Requirements

Through this you will complete (a) two in-class exams, (b) four out of classroom assignments, and (c) a final test-construction project. All material presented in lecture and all assigned readings are potential sources for exam questions. If you miss a class you are recommended to get notes from a classmate. I typically do not lend my lecture notes to students.

Grading Criteria

Grading Scale Grading requirements

Assignments

1. There will be two in-class, closed book exams. Format may be multiple choice and/or short answer/essay. Exams are non-cumulative in nature. They will cover lecture and readings. Exams will be given at midterm (week of 3/2) and final (last week of class)

1. The final project due the Thursday of the last week of class by 5 PM. The purpose of this assignment is to construct a test. This assignment will have sub-parts that will be administered throughout the semester. Details will follow. I call your attention to two sub-parts at this time.

1. During the week of 3/9, you will be asked to turn in two articles:
2. an article containing a validity measure that you will use to establish initial convergent validity evidence for your measure, and
3. an article containing a measure that you will use to establish discriminant validity.
4. You will be asked to obtain data from FIVE participants. You can use your friends and family. However, you may NOT use your classmates. This will give us a small sample that we will use in our analysis. You will be given packets during the week of 3/16 and will be expected to return the packets by the week of 3/30.

1. There will brief exercises to take home and help you think about psychometrics and testing in general. You may be asked to use SPSS in some assignments.

1. Students are expected to come to class having completed reading, as well as to participate in class discussion. Attendance will account for half the grade, and participating will account for the other half.

Late Assignments and Incomplete Policy

Late assignments will not be accepted without prior approval.

Class Schedule and Reading Assignments

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Student Information Sheet for PP6001 – Individual Assessment

Fall 2009

Name:______

Year in School:______

Class Meeting Day/Time:______

Phone number where you may be reached: ______

E-Mail address: ______

What experience do you have with tests and measurements?

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Please list the mathematics/statistics courses you have taken:

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What do you hope to gain from this course?

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What experience do you have with psychological research?

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