Meeting competency in psychometric testing

Ticking off the mandatory assessments can be one of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of the 4+2 internship, and if you are not routinely administering assessments in the workplace it can be hard to know where to start. Like most of the internship competencies, I suggest breaking tasks down into manageable steps.

Here are my top tips for meeting the psychometric assessment competency, including an overview of AHPRA's competency requirements, options for training and supervision in psychometric assessment and ways to access the different assessment tools.

You are required to demonstrate competency in a range of different assessments, including:

a. ONE child test of intelligence from the following:

b. ONE adult test of intelligence:

c. ONE specialised memory test from the following:

d. TWO personality tests from the following:

e. FOUR other assessments from National Psychology Exam (NPE) Curriculum,

including the following freely available tests:

Each test must be administered, scored and interpreted as many times as necessary to achieve competence.

Each test must then be competently demonstrated at least twice to a supervisor during direct observation of practice with real clients, or (where appropriate) in realistic simulated learning environments.

Therefore to meet competency you are required to do the following for EACH test:

Test Administration:

Your supervisor needs to observe you administer the test to a real or simulated client. A simulated assessment generally involves a role-play with another provisional psychologist or work colleague.

Scoring:

Your supervisor needs to either observe you scoring or check your scoring afterwards. Some tests are scored electronically, but your supervisor will still need to see the results to check your interpretation is correct

Interpretation:

Your supervisor needs to review a real or simulated feedback session and/or a report demonstrating correct interpretation of test results.

While some of the assessments are more difficult to access (particularly the cognitive and memory tests), others are freely available online. You can therefore start meeting competency in FOUR of the other assessments from the NPE curriculum.

Below I have listed the free assessments that you need to know in detail for the NPE (I suggest starting with these) and those that you need to be familiar with.

Free assessments you need to know in detail for the NPE:

Free assessments you need to be familiar with for the NPE:

Some assessments are easier and quicker to master than others. For example, self-administered screening tools such as the DASS and K10 are relatively straightforward to learn and take less time to score and interpret than the more complex assessments such as the cognitive, memory and personality tests.

It is important to allow enough time to:

It can take several hours for your supervisor to assess competency in the cognitive, memory and personality assessments. As a guide, it can take approximately:

Remember that you need to demonstrate competency twice in each assessment.

Some of the assessments are freely available online and are therefore easy to access. The more specialised tests, such as the cognitive, memory and personality assessments, require more training and practice prior to demonstrating competency to your supervisor. They are also expensive to purchase, so they can also be more difficult to access.

Please be aware that it is not possible to “hire” psychometric assessments, as licensing rules prohibit practitioners from loaning assessments for a fee.If your supervisor or workplace does not have access to all the required psychometric tests, you will need to access them from another source, such as:

Borrowing from a university test library

Most psychology departments have extensive test libraries and can provide access to these tests. Borrowing conditions may vary. Some universities will not allow you to take tests off the premises, in which case you will need to complete your practice and observed assessments at the university library.

Borrowing from a local business or practice

It may be worth asking local practices that specialise in psychometric assessment whether you can borrow any of their tests. Some practices may even employ provisional psychologists for a few hours a week, which might provide the opportunity to observe and administer assessments with clients.

Accessing tests online

Many psychometric tests can be accessed online however, for the cognitive and memory tests, you will require additional materials (usually 2 iPads plus specific administration items).

Access a secondary supervisor who has access to a test library

This option would involve using some of your supervision hours with a secondary supervisor who can provide training and/or assess competency in a range of different assessment tools. Training may be provided in a small group setting, which can also reduce supervision costs.

You need to have detailed knowledge of six psychometric tests for the NPE. You also need to meet competency in a number of psychometric tests, as part of the Assessment and Measurement Competency. There is some overlap between the competency requirements and the tests that require detailed knowledge.

These are:

Demonstrating competency requires you to competently administer, score and interpret each test twice. This process will give you a detailed understanding of the test and will help with NPE preparation.

For further assistance with NPE preparation, you are also welcome to download my Assessment Flashcards for free.

If you are looking for a comprehensive solution to develop competency in cognitive, memory, and personality assessments, my Psychometric Assessment Toolkit provides online training in the following tests:

When you enrol in the complete package you will also receive access to test materials, which means you will have everything you need to meet competency.