Richardson Wk 1 Assignment CNDV 5334
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Dec 6, 2023
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WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT
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Week 1 Assignment: Legal and Ethical Issues in Assessment
Jade Richardson
CNDV 5334 Measurement and Assessment
Lamar University
WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT
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Week 1 Assignment:
Legal and Ethical Issues in Assessment
Part of being a counselor is performing assessments and tests to determine specific
problems a client may have as well as to help determine potential solutions. However, there are
many legal and ethical issues a counselor must take into consideration prior to testing. This paper
will seek to analyze the laws in Texas as they pertain to testing performed by counselors in the
state as well as certain ethical issues that should be considered.
Assessment Laws as they Relate to My State
According to the Naugle article, Texas is one of a handful of states that places restrictions
on specific types of testing by school counselors. School counselors in Texas are prohibited from
conducting testing where the purpose of the assessment is to analyze a student’s personality.
Naugle also asserts in this article that Texas currently has legislation in place to regulate which
kinds of tests may or may not be administered by school counselors and that assessment is
specifically designated as a part of a school counselor’s role and responsibilities in Texas schools
(2009). There do not seem to be any substantial changes to these policies since this article was
published.
Comparing the International Test Commission Statement to My State Law
The International Test Commission’s Statement On the Use of Tests and Other
Assessment Instruments for Research Purposes (2014) is made up of seven sections and describes
the ITC’s standards for ethical tests and assessments. The statement includes sections on
obtaining consent from clients to perform tests, respecting the copyright of various tests,
maintaining proper documentation, and adhering to ethical standards such as client
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confidentiality and the security of test material. All of these standards seem to line up with the
Texas Administrative Code regulations for Licensed Professional Counselors.
Multicultural Assessment Standards
In 2016, the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) released its
revised Multicultural Assessment Standards. These standards offer guidance to counselors for
implementing culturally responsive testing practices. The three areas that stood out to me the
most were the influence of oppressive systems on mental health, the limitations of assessment
instruments portraying clients from diverse backgrounds inaccurately, and presenting assessment
results in a clear, unambiguous way while remaining respectful and compassionate.
Influence of Historical Oppression on Mental Health
Prior to pursuing a career in counseling, I completed my undergraduate degree in history.
History is a field that has always interested me, and one aspect of the discipline I have focused a
lot of research on is oppressed and marginalized populations throughout time. In the
Multicultural Assessment Standards, under the Advocacy section, one of the points states that a
professional counselor should “Understand the influence of systemic and historical oppression on
mental health and well-being and the way the experience of oppression impacts the assessment
process for multicultural populations”. I feel that my background in history places me in a unique
position to understand the way these systems have influenced people and communities in the past,
and is an area that I have a lot of interest in learning more about as I complete my counseling
degree.
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Limitations of assessment instruments on clients from diverse backgrounds
Similarly, my background in history has taught me about the lack of representation of
diverse groups in research in many disciplines, especially medicine. Mental healthcare is not
exempt from this bias in assessment reliability in these groups. Under standard III of the
Standards for Multicultural Assessment, the AARC states that a professional mental health
counselor should “Identify limitations of instruments, including the inaccurate portrayal of
persons from diverse backgrounds (e.g., culture, age, sexuality, spirituality), particularly as
presenting with atypical thoughts, emotions, behavior, or psychopathology.” I feel that it is
incredibly important to acknowledge how a person’s genetics, culture, and background influence
their mental health, and this standard affirms that philosophy.
Presenting assessment results
As a counselor, there are times when the results of an assessment may be distressing for a
client or the client’s parents if that client is a minor. This could be a diagnosis of a stigmatized
mental illness or other similarly upsetting news. Standard VII of the Standards for Multicultural
Assessment states that a professional counselor should “Present assessment results to clients and
other nonprofessional audiences in a respectful and compassionate way, including the use of clear,
unambiguous, jargon-free language, while recognizing both client strengths and presenting
concerns.” Being able to have those difficult conversations and deliver potentially distressing
news with empathy and compassion is an extremely important part of being a professional
counselor, and an area in which I feel like I exhibit some strength.
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Ethical and Legal Considerations
One of the most used resources for determining the ethical responsibilities of counselors
is the ACA Code of Ethics. Section E of the Code of Ethics addresses ethical assessment and
offers a set of standards to ensure assessments and tests are given in an equitable, legal fashion. A
core concept in the Code of Ethics is ensuring that clients give informed consent to participate in
any kind of assessment or test. Additionally,
Counseling Assessment and Evaluation:
Fundamentals of Applied Practice
(Watson &Flamez, 2015) lists steps for ethical decision-
making, which I feel would be beneficial when a counselor is faced with an ethical dilemma.
Informed Consent
Section E.3 of the ACA Code of Ethics focuses on obtaining informed consent from
clients for assessments. Informed consent means that the counselor clearly and fully explains the
reason for the tests, what they entail, why that test was chosen, and what the results might mean.
Informed consent is necessary so that the client has any and all information they may need to
decide if the assessment is something they wish to pursue.
Ethical Decision-Making
The textbook cites a step-by-step model for ethical decision-making created by Forester-
Miller & Davis in 1995. The seven-step process consists of identifying the problem, applying the
ethical guidelines from the ACA Code of Ethics, determining the nature of the issue, creating
potential courses of action, considering any potential consequences of each course of action,
evaluating the selected course of action, and finally implementing the chosen course of action.
When faced with a particularly difficult ethical dilemma, having a dedicated step-by-step process
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to work through can help to make the decision-making process less overwhelming and the best
decisions more obvious.
Reflection
While sometimes ethical decision-making can seem like common sense, counselors often
find themselves dealing with complex issues where it isn’t always so black and white. Having a
good grasp on the state standards for counseling and the ACA Code of Ethics can help to make
difficult ethical decisions a bit easier, but it is ultimately up to the counselor to determine the
most ethical course of action for a client. In terms of assessment, I feel that I have a better idea of
the specific ethical considerations surrounding this area of the counseling profession and that I
have compiled a list of resources to reference in the event that I need guidance in this area.
As in other aspects of counseling, adhering to ethical standards when developing and
implementing assessment tools is of the utmost importance. Counselors must ensure that they
consider each client's unique background and culture to determine if a chosen assessment would
result in reliable and valid results, and that an assessment tool is effective for use in diverse
populations. Additionally, counselors must obtain informed consent and strive to consider all
potential options and their consequences when assessing clients.
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References
American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics and standards of practice.
Alexandria, VA: Author.
Forester-Miller, H., & Davis, T. E. (1995). A practitioner’s guide to ethical decision
making. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Naugle, K. A. (2009). Counseling and Testing: What Counselors Need to Know About
State Laws on Assessment and Testing. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and
Development, 42(1), 31-45.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0748175609333561
O’Hara, C., Clark, M., Hays, D. G., McDonald, C. P., Chang, C. Y., Crockett, S. A.,
Filmore, J. M., Portman, T. a. A., Spurgeon, S. L., & Wester, K. L. (2016b). AARC
Standards for Multicultural Research. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation,
7(2), 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137816657389
Watson, J. & Flamez, B. (2015). Counseling Assessment and Evaluation: Fundamentals of
Applied Practice. SAGE: Thousand Oaks, CA.