Association for Assessment in Counseling (AACE) Newsnotes Article


		Rights and Responsibility of Test Takers

Rights and Responsibility of Test Takers

Did you know you have the right to know if a test is optional and learn of the consequences of taking or not taking the test? Did you know you have the right to receive an explanation of your test results in commonly understood terms? Did you know you have the responsibility to inform the appropriate people if you believe the testing conditions affected your results? These are just a few of the 20 rights and responsibilities the Joint Committee on Testing Practices says you should have. The Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) is pleased to announce the release of its latest publication, The Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers: Guidelines and Expectations. The Joint Committee on Testing Practices is a cooperative venture sponsored by a number of professional associations: the American Counseling Association, the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Council on Measurement in Education.

The Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers enumerates 10 rights and 10 responsibilities that all test takers share in most settings where tests and assessments are used. These rights and responsibilities have been printed on a convenient bookmark for ease of access by students and other test takers. A second document elaborates those same rights and responsibilities to clarify each for professional test users. This document is available as a booklet from the Testing and Assessment Office, Science Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First St, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, 202-336-6000, or testing@apa.org. Both test taker rights and responsibilities documents are also available on the web at http:// www.apa.org/science/ttrr.html. The documents are not copyrighted in order to be maximally available to those concerned about testing.

Because of their widespread use, tests and assessments have been increasingly subject to question in the media. The membership of the Joint Committee on Testing Practices consists of individuals in professions who receive substantial training in the proper development, administration, and use of tests and assessments and whose professional work often involves tests and assessment to a significant degree. JCTP's work reflects concern for both proper testing practices and test takers themselves.

The Joint Committee on Testing Practices has produced a number of documents and items, including the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education; two books, Assessing Individuals with Disabilities and The Responsibilities of Test Users; and a videotape, The ABCs of School Testing. Each of these documents advances the mission of JCTP. The Working Group of the Joint Committee on Testing Practices that developed this document was chaired by Dr. Kurt F. Geisinger, Academic Vice President and Professor of Psychology, at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York and Dr. William Schaefer, Professor of Education and Measurement at the University of Maryland. The working group was composed of approximately 15 distinguished professionals representing the diversity of professions and vocations as implied by the membership of JCTP. American Counseling Association/Association for Assessment in Counseling members that were an instrumental part of the creation of this document included: Dr. Ruth Ekstrom (ETS), Dr. John Fremer (ETS), Dr. Nicholas Vacc (UNCG), and Dr. Janet Wall (ACT). Vacc and Wall are the American Counseling Association's representatives to the JCTP.

For further information, please contact the Testing and Assessment Office, Science Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, 202-336-6000, or testing@apa.org.