The bestselling guide to reporting writing, updated and reworked for today's practice
Essentials of Assessment Report Writing offers effective solutions to the creation of reader-friendly, yet targeted, psychological, and educational assessment reports. Parents, clinicians, clients, and other readers need more than test-by-test descriptions—they need an accessible analysis of the entire situation to determine their next steps. This book provides clear guidance for busy practitioners seeking ways to improve their report writing skills. With a focus on current practice, this new second edition covers DSM-5 updates and the latest assessment instruments including the WJ IV, WISC-V, WAIS-IV, KTEA-3, and the CAS2. New discussion includes advice on tailoring the report to the audience, and annotated case reports provide illustrative models of effective report styles, interpretation, and analysis. Key concepts are highlighted for quick reference throughout, and end-of-chapter questions help reinforce understanding.
Reporting styles vary widely within the field, in both content and style; there is no definitive "standard," but many reports fail to reflect best practices and therefore prove less than useful to the reader. This book provides expert guidance throughout the reporting process to help practitioners provide high-quality, accessible reports.
Integrate assessment results to provide a person-centered report
Identify and navigate critical decision points in the interpretive process
Write efficiently yet effectively while enhancing the reader's experience
Provide an accurate, informative, and readable assessment report
Incorporate practical recommendations to address the referral concerns
Expertly-conducted assessments should culminate with a carefully constructed analysis that provides direction via clear communication. Because this report will be used to inform treatment, intervention, and ultimately, the client's quality of life—it is critical that it provides clear, informative guidance in a way that readers can understand. Essentials of Assessment Report Writing provides comprehensive guidelines for navigating through the report writing process.
About the Authors
W. JOEL SCHNEIDER, PHD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Studies in Education at Temple University, Philadelphia.
ELIZABETH O. LICHTENBERGER, PHD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Carlsbad, California.
NANCY MATHER, PHD, is a Professor at the University of Arizona, in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies.
NADEEN L. KAUFMAN, EdD, is co-Series Editor with Alan S. Kaufman of the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series and is a Lecturer at the Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine.
Author(s): Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger, Nancy Mather, Nadeen L. Kaufman, Alan S. Kaufman
Series: Essentials of Psychological Assessment
Edition: 2nd Edition
Publisher: Wiley
Year: 2018
Language: English
Commentary: Essentials of Essentials of Psychological Assessment
Pages: 488
Title Page
......Page 5
Copyright Page......Page 6
Contents......Page 9
Series Preface......Page 11
Preface to the Second Edition......Page 13
Acknowledgements......Page 15
Chapter One Introduction and Overview......Page 17
Distracting Priorities in the Report-Writing Process
......Page 19
Extensive Documentation Versus Effective Communication......Page 20
Chronological Structure for the Writer Versus Narrative Coherence for the Reader......Page 22
Neat and Tidy Data Versus Thoughtful and Integrative Interpretations......Page 24
How to Fool Anyone, Including Oneself, with Smarty-Pants Jargon
......Page 25
Chapter Two Make Your Reports Classy and Gorgeous......Page 27
The Material Ingredients of Beauty......Page 28
Stylish Consistency Made Easy......Page 29
A Sober Font with a Hint of Flair......Page 31
Paragraph Alignment and Hyphenation......Page 33
Line Spacing......Page 34
To Be More Emphatic, Deemphasize Emphasis......Page 35
Hierarchical Headings......Page 36
Simplified Hierarchies......Page 37
The Humble, Overworked Hyphen......Page 40
The En Dash......Page 41
Tables......Page 42
Chapter Three Writing with Clarity, Style, and Purpose......Page 46
Writing Classic Prose......Page 47
Prose Is a Window to the World......Page 48
The Writer Has Already Done the Hard Work of Observation, Interpretation, and Presentation......Page 50
Classic Prose Is Simple, Not Simplistic......Page 51
Habitual Hedging Is Unnecessary, Unattractive, and Annoying......Page 53
Begin with the End in Mind......Page 56
Organize Your Thoughts......Page 57
Make Every Sentence Worth Reading......Page 58
Avoid Redundancy, Repeat as Necessary......Page 59
Evasive Terms Are Impolite and Awkward......Page 61
Find Natural Breaks in Long Paragraphs......Page 62
Write Sentences with Simple Structure......Page 63
Use Words Your Readers Know......Page 64
Pick a Time Frame, and Stick with It......Page 66
Write Clearly......Page 68
Punctuation......Page 73
Capitalization......Page 78
Page Numbering......Page 79
Rules You Can Ignore, if You Dare......Page 80
You Can Split Infinitives......Page 81
The Passive Voice Can Be Used (but Not Abused)......Page 82
Saying Aye and Not Saying I Are Equally Old-Fashioned
......Page 84
Use an Outline Before Writing......Page 85
Get Help from a Colleague......Page 86
Report Structure Alternatives......Page 89
Title and Identifying Information......Page 90
Reason for Referral......Page 91
Retelling the Story: Background Information......Page 95
Raw Data or Integrated Narrative?......Page 98
Chronological Versus Thematic Sequencing......Page 104
Including Sensitive Information......Page 106
Personal Strengths, Vivid Anecdotes, and Humanizing Details......Page 107
Dramatic Incidents Irrelevant to the Referral Concerns......Page 108
Conflicting Perspectives......Page 109
Identifying the Source of Information......Page 111
The Purpose of Describing Behavioral Observations......Page 113
Describing Observations Is a Potent, Living Tradition, Not a Dead Ritual......Page 114
Counterproductive Descriptions......Page 115
Purposeful and Productive Descriptions......Page 116
Caveat Observator: On the Seductive Validity of Behavioral Observations......Page 119
Physical Appearance......Page 121
Ease of Establishing and Maintaining Rapport with Examinee......Page 122
Communication......Page 123
Response to Feedback......Page 124
Problem-Solving Strategies
......Page 125
Unusual Mannerisms or Habits......Page 126
Observing in Naturalistic Settings......Page 127
Duration Recording......Page 129
Narrative Recording......Page 130
Published Observational Systems......Page 131
Writing Behavioral Observations......Page 132
Behavioral Observation Section Versus Integrated Findings......Page 134
Validity of Assessment Procedures......Page 135
Making the Most of Behavioral Observations During Testing......Page 136
Explain What You Describe......Page 139
Making Sense of Inconsistent Behavior......Page 140
Chapter Six Communicating Test Results......Page 144
Strong Claims Require Strong, Converging Lines of Evidence......Page 145
Find Explanations for Conflicting Evidence......Page 148
Choose a Basic Organization Scheme......Page 150
Move from Global to Specific......Page 151
Move from Standardized to Informal Results......Page 153
Use Contrast to Highlight Major Findings......Page 155
Reporting Scores......Page 158
A Cacophony of Scales......Page 159
Report Scores at the Right Level of Specificity......Page 163
Focus on Underlying Constructs, Not on Test Formats......Page 167
Focus on People, Not Tests......Page 168
Note......Page 170
Diagnostic Impressions......Page 173
Describe Your Rationale for the Diagnosis......Page 174
Disclose Reasonable Doubts About the Diagnosis......Page 175
Inclusion of a Summary Section......Page 176
Contents of the Summary Section......Page 177
Main Principles for Writing Summaries......Page 179
Fundamental Qualities of a Personality Report......Page 182
Psychologists Serve as Consultants in the Personality Assessment......Page 183
A Personality Report Is an Interpretation......Page 184
The Diagnostic Understanding of Personality Is Dynamic......Page 186
Identifying the Level of Personality Functioning Helps Organize the Report......Page 187
Identifying Patients’ Strengths Is as Important as Conceptualizing Their Weaknesses......Page 188
Comprehensive Personality Reports Describe the Range of Functioning......Page 189
Psychological Testing Is a Clinical Intervention......Page 190
The Challenges of Writing for Children and Adolescents......Page 191
Good Reports Are Written in Good Prose......Page 193
Background Information and Reasons for Referral......Page 194
Diagnostic Understanding......Page 196
Summary and Recommendations......Page 206
Appendix to Elizabeth R’s Report: WAIS-IV Results
......Page 209
Recommendations About Writing Recommendations......Page 213
Instead of Counting Recommendations, Make Each Recommendation Count......Page 214
Divide Longer Recommendations Sections into Organized and Manageable Subsections......Page 215
Recommend What People Are Willing and Able to Implement......Page 216
Introduce the Recommendation with a Brief Rationale......Page 218
Adjust the Specificity of Your Recommendations to the Specificity of the Situation......Page 220
When Proposing Solutions to Complex, Long-Term Problems, Emphasize the First Steps
......Page 224
Connect Examinees with Experts, Advocates, and Community Resources......Page 225
Put Your Recommendations in the Recommendations Section......Page 226
Further Assessment or Evaluation......Page 228
Accommodations......Page 230
Interventions......Page 234
Conclusion......Page 244
Be Prepared......Page 246
Use Graphs and Visual Aids......Page 247
Be Inclusive: Use Interpreters......Page 248
Good Answers Generate Good Questions......Page 249
Discussing Assessment Results with Parents......Page 250
Discussing Assessment Results with Teachers......Page 251
Multiple Participants......Page 252
Responses to Findings......Page 253
Computers in the Assessment Process......Page 254
Finding All Your “Find-and-Replace” Errors
......Page 255
Automated Test Interpretations......Page 257
Ethical Standards in Assessment......Page 258
Confidentiality......Page 261
Never Let the Sun Rise on Unreported Data......Page 265
Organize Reports by Topic, Not by Tests......Page 266
Reduce, Remove, or Relocate Test Descriptions......Page 267
Start with a Well-Constructed Report Shell
......Page 268
Put a Summary at the Beginning of the Report......Page 269
Use a Sensible System of Test Score Descriptors......Page 270
Use Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Backronyms Only If They Make Your Report Easier to Read......Page 271
Check Your Report’s Readability Statistics......Page 272
Annotated Bibliography......Page 273
Chapter Twelve Annotated Case Reports......Page 276
Introduction to Chalukian and Lichtentstein’s Report......Page 278
Introduction to Linda Fishman’s Report......Page 298
Psychoeducational Evaluation......Page 314
Introduction to Medical College Admission Test Accommodations Evaluation......Page 334
Introduction to Annotated Forensic Psychological Evaluation......Page 351
Confidential Psychological Report......Page 373
Confidential Neuropsychological Evaluation......Page 388
Cognitive and Educational Evaluation......Page 396
Educational Evaluation......Page 406
Psychoeducational Evaluation of Carolina Gomez, a Junior High School Student with Dyslexia and ADHD
......Page 423
Confidential Evaluation Report......Page 447
References......Page 461
Index......Page 468
EULA......Page 488
