When giving an assessment, it is helpful to know as much about the client/student as possible before the actual testing day.
- What areas are you testing in?
- If language - what are the areas they have difficulty in? (this will help you pick the appropriate assessment(s))
- How is the student/client's attention span? Will they need breaks?
- How is their hearing/vision? Any concerns or special notes? Do they wear glasses? if so, make sure those are available on day of testing.
- How old is the student/client?
- age will determine which assessments are available to you to use
- What medical diagnoses do you know about for this student/client?
- Is the student verbal or non-verbal? If non-verbal, is there an AAC device they will use?
Once you know which assessments you might be using, it is helpful to familiarize yourself with the assessment. Read the examiner's manual!!! There may be caveats to the the calculation of basals and ceilings from subtest to subtest and test to test and it is imperative to have a good understanding of how the test operates before you give the test. It is also recommended to look over the protocol. Make notes if you feel that would be best or highlight basal and ceiling rules so they are easy to find or alert you when they are different. There are also sometimes rules about how long a student/client has to answer the question before it must be marked as a 0 (ex: OWLS-II has 10 seconds to respond on the listening comprehension subtest). All of these caveats to an assessment are important to know.
The next consideration to think about is what medium will you use to give the test. So many of the tests are available online now so you could just use your computer if you have access to those tests online (it often requires a subscription). It is strongly advisable to have a secondary electronic device, such as an ipad, for the administrator instructions. For some assessments, like the CELF-5, you can print out the administration instructions ahead of time, which would eliminate the use of a second electronic device unless you plan on using the 2nd electronic device to do the protocol. In which case, you must be able to flip back and forth easily between the instructions and the protocol. Save often! If you are a paper protocol person, then you may only need the secondary electronic device for the administration directions. It is still highly recommended to have a paper protocol available on the day of the test, even if you do plan on using the electronic protocol, as technology can be unpredictable.
Important reminders for when using your computer as the stimulus easel -
- have it fully charged and a charging cable ready to go if needed (make sure there is a plug available wherever you test)
- have the stimulus pages already pulled up before you begin testing
- make sure you have access to reliable wifi
- use the full screen mode in a separate tab
- turn off all sound on the computer or mute the sound (helpful for when email or other alerts pop up) as it can be distracting to the student
- Make sure the screen brightness is all the way up and that there is good lighting in the room
- Recommend using a laptop instead of an ipad for the testing easel as the ipad is a smaller size and the screen can easily be distorted by a simple touch
If the test is not available online or you prefer the hard copy, then you will be using the physical copy of the test. Make sure that all books (examiner's manual, stimulus easels, etc.) are present. If the test has manipulatives, please go through the testing kit and make sure all manipulatives are present, even if the manipulatives are for an age above or below where you expect to start testing. Usually in the examiner's manual there is a list of manipulatives required for the test. The PLS-5 is a good example of a test that has a lot of manipulatives and it has a list in the examiner's manual of all the items needed.
When deciding if using the computer or physical test, consider the child's age as well as their overall activity/concentration level. If they are younger, it may be harder for them to concentrate when a computer screen is present as they may see it as a toy and want to press the keyboard buttons. If there are a lot of manipulatives, sometimes it is just easier to use the physical test instead of having that many more items on the table (laptop, ipad, etc.).
Another consideration is how many tests you have to give. If doing all testing in a single sitting, realize this may not always be possible depending on the student/client. Testing may have to be split over a few days depending on the client. If you do have to do all testing in 1 sitting or session, make sure you think about the order of the tests. If having to give a language test, it would be advisable to start with that and then follow with an articulation test if needed. The student/client will have the most attention at the beginning of the testing session. Sometimes you can split the language test and give one subtest and then an articulation test and then do the other language subtest. Again, this all depends on the directions associated with the test. Always ask how the student/client is doing at the end of each subtest. You will learn to gauge if they need a break. Sometimes you can coax them into doing another subtest before a break is given. Each person is different.
Make notes during the assessment as needed as they can give insight into the client/student's thought process. If the amount of time that a student/client has to answer has been exceeded, you can wait to see how they answer (if at all) so that you can have that information present. You would still score the item as 0 because they exceeded the time allotted for the response, but you could always note in your report that with additional time, they would have gotten X amount more points or questions correct. This would be a valuable insight for an IEP as extended time could then be offered as an accommodation.
Lastly, consider the testing room itself. Is this place in a quiet area? Are there any windows? If so, maybe consider having the student sit facing away from the windows to reduce possible distractions or close the blinds/curtains (if any). If there are doors with windows, the same process would apply. If it is in a louder area, like off a main hallway, try to sit as far away from the door as possible.
Some additional factors to consider:
Breaks
Breaks don't have to be long drawn out affairs either. Sometimes they may just need to get up, stretch their legs, and get a drink of water. Other times, a quick game of tic-tac-toe or some other short, quick game is sufficient. It shouldn't be a very long break though so that you keep the momentum of the testing session going.
Praise
Most tests do not allow you to tell the student/client if they got the answer correct. Make sure you have a good statement ready for when the student/client asks you if they got the answer correct. This statement should not indicate one way or another if they did or did not get the answer correct. Testing manuals will usually have examples of statements that could be said.
Facial Expressions and Tone of Voice
Make sure that you keep your facial expressions neutral so as to not give away any answers or to let the student/client know they got the answer wrong. Your tone of voice should also be even so that no excessive attention is brought to one word or another in the stimulus text.
Parents
If parents or other adults are present during the evaluation (this can happen with the evaluation of smaller/younger children), please remind them before getting started to not answer on behalf of their child or to give any hints to the child. It is also important to let them know that test questions may only be asked a certain number of times (dependent on the test) and no re-wording of the question is allowed so it would be best if the SLP asked the questions. Hopefully, this will make the expectations clear for the parent/adult and keep them from answering or invalidating the results.
If the testing requires a parent interview as some tests do (ex: REEL, PLS, etc) make sure that you are clear in your questions and give examples as needed to help the parent to understand what is being asked. It is often best to go over what the answers/responses of "sometimes" versus "often" versus "always" mean and give concrete examples (this can be in the form of percentages, number of times this skill is exhibited, or the consistency with which the skill is exhibited). This will help you to get the most accurate picture of the student. Don't be afraid to ask follow up questions or ask the parent to give you examples of what this skill looks like for their child. The PLS manual provides great examples of the skills and specific questions.
Interpreters/Translators
If an interpreter is used please go over similar expectations and rules as you would for a parent. This would mean making sure that the questions are not reworded if asked again (when permitted), that the interpreter state the student/client's answer to the best of their ability with incorrect grammar (if used by the student/client) as this would be important for language testing, and that no hints are given to the student/client. Obviously, different rules apply when using a translator or interpreter on a standardized test that is not normed for that language. This will not be covered in this article but the administrator would be wise to research how to best use an interpreter/translator during their assessment and how to interpret their test results.
Other tips/tricks:
I have found that when testing, I tell the student/client that I have the job of turning the easel pages or pressing the next button on the computer and their job is to concentrate on the question and to answer. Students want to help out but it's important to maintain the validity of the assessment.
Katelynn Gibson, M.S., CCC-SLP
