Measurement Characteristics of Client Assessment HPR 451 Chapter 2

Measurement??? Error and confidence are at the heart of assessment They underlie the concepts of Validity Reliability Fairness Usability All measurements have error. Object is to reduce the error….

Error Scores should change roughly the same amount as the client’s attitude or skill. If not, there is variance caused by unintentional or random error. Lots of things can cause variance – any condition irrelevant to the purpose of the assessment CTRS should make every effort to reduce error to obtain true score – Be confident in tool and follow protocol

Measurement Terminology Assessment instruments are measurement tools Measures attitudes, skills, abilities, knowledge, interests Norm-referenced - Compared with scores in a group Criterion-referenced–Compared with preset standard Validity – The extent to which it meets its intended purpose Content validity – How well does it measure subject matter? (i.e. Knowledge of leisure resources) Criterion-related validity – the extent to which test performance relates to another valued measure of performance (i.e. ACT, SAT)

Measurement Terminology cont’d Construct validity – measuring unobservable traits (i.e. self-esteem, anxiety, locus of control, depression, extroversion, intelligence) Most TR assessments measure behaviors and not constructs Reliability – Estimate of the consistency of measurement Stability - How stable is the instrument over time? Equivalency - How closely related are two or more forms of the same assessment? Internal consistency - How closely are items on the assessment related?

Practicality and Usability Is it doable? (time, expertise, cost) Does it serve the purpose for which it was intended better than other assessments?

Determine the Purpose Define the Domain Client info (baseline, formative, summative) Research Communication Administrative Define the Domain Leisure Ability Model – Functional Intervention, Leisure Education, Recreation Participation – See Social Skills General Outcome example on pg 60