Vocational Assessment and Evaluation
in the Rehabilitation Process

RCS 6255 - Spring 2004

Ronald J. Spitznagel, Ed.D

Meeting Days	Times	Location
Monday	6th period (12:50 – 1:40)	G301A (HPNP - Health Professions)
Wednesday	6th and 7th periods (12:50 – 2:45)	G301A (HPNP - Health Professions)

I.    OBJECTIVES:

A.	Familiarization of philosophical and theoretical issues in assessment and evaluation in rehabilitation and human services.
B.	Familiarity with and understanding of terms associated with psychological testing and vocational assessment in rehabilitation and human services.
C.	A clearer understanding of measurement methods and properties.
D.	Overview of techniques for interviewing and in observations.
E.	Introduction to, analysis of, and experiential situations with paper/pencil instrumentation covering the three levels of testing with emphasis on administration, scoring, and interpretation.
F.	Detailed analysis of assessment of learning.
G.	Overview of work sampling.
H.	Understanding effective report writing.

II.    TEXT:

Bolton, B.F. (2001). Handbook of measurement and evaluation in rehabilitation (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro.ed

 You are strongly urged to familiarize yourself with the following books:

Bower, G.H., & Hilgard, E.R. (1981). Theories of learning (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Golden, C.J. (1990). Clinical interpretation of objective psychological tests (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Golden, C.J. Hammeke, T.A., Purish, A.D., Berg, R.A., Moses, J.A., Jr., Newlin, D.B., Wilkening, G.N., & Puente, A.E.
       (1982). Item interpretation of the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska 
       Press. 

Jarvis, P.E., & Barth, J.T. (1994). The Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological battery: A guide to interpretation and
       clinical applications. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resoures, IN.

Power, P.W. (2000). A guide to vocational assessment (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: pro-ed.

Zuckerman, E.L. (1995).Clinician's thesaurus: The guidebook for writing psychological reports (5th ed.). New York: The
       Guilford Press.

III.    TOPICS:

January	7	12:50 – 2:45	Orientation to Course; Requirements
January	12	12:50 – 1:40	Philosophy of Assessment and Evaluation; Ethics; Interviewing (structured and semi structured): SCID, DIS, SADS
January	14	12:50 – 2:45	Measurement Properties: Reliability, Validity, Norms
January	19		NO CLASS - Martin Luther King Holiday
January	21	12:50 – 2:45	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Intelligence Tests - WAIS series (in class exercise)
January	26	12:50 – 1:40	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Intelligence Tests - WAIS series, Stanford-Binet, Slosson
January	28	12:50 – 2:45	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Intelligence Tests - Beta III, PPVT, Raven's Progressive Matrices, WRIT, TONI (in class exercises)
February	2	12:50 – 1:40	Assessment of Psychopathology - MMPI, Millon, Clinical Analysis Questionnaire, Rorschach
February	4	12:50 – 2:45	Assessment of Personality - MMPI, Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, MBTI (in class exercises)
February	9	12:50 – 1:40	Assessment of Personality - MBTI, Edwards Personality Scale, ThurstoneTemperament Scale, 16 PF
February	11	12:50 – 2:45	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Work Value Surveys, Values Scale, COPES; Aptitude Testing - Differential Aptitude Test (in class exercises)
February	16	12:50 – 1:40	Aptitude Testing - General Aptitude Test Battery, CAPS, Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (in class exercise)
February	18	12:50 – 2:45	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Achievement Tests - WRAT-3,  (in class exercises)
February	23		NO CLASS – Field Work
February	25	12:50 – 2:45	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Achievement Tests - Gray Oral Reading Test, Industrial Reading Test, Adult Basic Learning Examination,Test of Adult Basic Education, Gilmore Oral Reading
March	1		NO CLASS – Field Work
March	3		Paper/Pencil Instruments: Achievement Tests - PIAT-R; Interest Surveys - Self-Directed Search, Career Decision Making System, Career Assessment Inventory
March	8		NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
March	10		NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
March	15	12:50 – 1:40	Paper/Pencil Instruments: Interest Surveys - COPS, Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, Reading Free Vocational Interest Inventory, Wide Range Interest and Opinion Test (in class exercises)
March	17	12:50 – 2:45	Mental Status Exam
March	22		NO CLASS – Field Work
March	24	12:50 – 2:45	Overview of Work Sample systems - VALPAR, McCarron DIal (in class demonstration)
March	29	12:50 – 1:40	Overview of Work Sample systems - System for Assessment and Group Evaluation, Talent Assessment Program, MSRT, MRMT, BHT, CSPDT (in class demonstration)
March	31	12:50 – 2:45	Assessment of Learning Behavioral-Associationist (Thorndike, Pavlov, Guthrie, Hull, Skinner, Estes)
April	5	12:50 – 1:40	Assessment of Learning - Cognitive-Organizational (Gestalt, Tolman)
April	7	12:50 – 2:45	Assessment of Learning - Learning Disabled Diagnostic Inventory, Learning Styles Inventory,  Neurophysiology of Learning, Applications to Human Services Delivery (in class exercise)
April	12	12:50 – 1:40	Interpretation and Report Writing - Data Collection, Objective and Subjective Biases, Types of Reports; Person in the Evaluation, in the Environment; Ending the Report
April	14	12:50 – 2:45	Neuropsychological Assessment - Halstead-Reitan: Description, Guide to Interpretation; Hypotheses, Clinical Applications
April	19	12:50 – 1:40	Luria-Nebraska: Description, Guide to Interpretation
April	21	12:50 – 2:45	Neuropsychological Assessment - Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Forensic Issues
April	26		FINAL EVALUATION DUE by 4:00 p.m.

IV.    REQUIREMENTS:

A.	Read text and other assignments given during course of semester; lecture notes; suggested readings.
B.	Critical assessment of one assigned assessment technique to cover all aspects of the instrument; written as if for a review to be placed in a journal; APA style (5th ed.); at least 7 pages; due March 24, 2004.
C.	Administration of an assigned instrument to a person other than a classmate; scoring and interpretation with written results to be handed in; at least 2 pages; due April 14, 2004.
D.	Critical review of four journal articles addressing a specific paper/pencil instrument. This review should be three pages double-spaced and must contain a synopsis of the article and a considerable reaction by the student. The reference is to be placed a the top of page one. APA style (5th ed.) must be used for the paper and this would include the one (1) inch margin on all sides. The name of the student should be placed in the upper right hand corner in pen and designate the paper number, i.e., 1, 2, 3, or 4. Each paper will be graded on completeness of reference, synopsis of article, and length and originality of reaction. The article being reviewed must come from a refereed journal and not be a commentary, review, or report. Reviews are due on January 28, February 18, March 29, and April 19. Late papers will receive at least one point loss.
E.	Participation in class sessions especially when tests are demonstrated is required.

V.    GRADING:

A.	Six (6) quizzes @ 15 (15) points each	90 points
B.	Final Evaluation	80 points
C.	Critical Review of one (1) instrument	40 points
D.	One instrument administered, scored, interpreted with observations in report	40 points
E.	Four (4) journal articles reviewed @ ten (10) points each	40 points
F.	Appropriate participation in class sessions – completion of instruments	35 points
G.	Attendance	25 points
	Total	350 points

V.    GRADE COMPOSITION:

The final grade will be determined by the points accumulated as shown in the table below
A        =      350 - 315	C       =    261 - 245
B+      =      314 - 297	D+     =    244 - 227
B        =     296 - 280	D       =    226 - 210
C+      =      279 - 262	E        =     < 210

VI.    GENERAL POLICIES:

A.	Each student is responsible for handouts and materials presented during each class period.
B.	Make-up quizzes and final evaluation can only be arranged through the instructor prior to the quiz or evaluation. Anyone missing a quiz will receive zero points. Points will be deducted for late submission of any assigned task. Ten percent of points for assignment will be lost first day, five percent of points for second and third day. No assignment will be accepted after the third day.
C.	Attendance at class sessions is required. Points will be deducted for missing a class without sufficient reason.
D.	Please retain this handout for future reference.

VII.    OATH:

"We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity."

PLEASE review the University's honesty policy regarding cheating and use of copyrighted materials. This can be found on the University's web page.

VIII.    ACCOMMODATIONS:

 "Students requesting classroom accommodations must first register with the Dean of Students office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodations."

IX.    AVAILABILITY:

I am available not only during office hours but also throughout the day. Please contact me personally if you wish to make an appointment with me at 273.6594. I can also be reached at home at 338.0764.

Associate Professor
University of Florida
Dept Rehabilitation Counseling
Box 100175, Health Science Center
Gainesville, FL  32610-0175
352.273.6594 (W); 352.338.0764 (H)
FAX: 352.273.6048
e-mail: rspitzna@phhp.ufl.edu

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