High quality delivery of test practice to individuals and groups

Jonathan WolffCareers Consultant, Loughborough University

AGCAS East Midlands Regional Training Event“Supporting Students' Test Practice Needs Through Online Psychometric Testing Delivery”

Tuesday 16th September, Loughborough University

Test practice in careers servicesHow we used to do it

Testing 10 - 30 students a week in classrooms using SHL paper & pencil tests. This required lots of:

Physical resources (test materials, pencils, rubbers, calculators etc.)

Up-front expense (costs of licensed materials / psychometric training)

Staff time (taking bookings; preparing for and running sessions; scoring answers and collating information; delivering one-one feedback)

Professional expertise: most services had at least two BPS Level A qualified practitioners

The ready availability of online tests, many of them free, has saved us a lot of expense and time and made everything easierOr has it!?

Pitfalls of the online practice test revolution (1)

It’s easy to push students towards tools/experiences that won’t help them

Many students assume that doing lots of practice will eventually get them through

Once they’ve exhausted the “free” tests they’ll spend lots of money on more tests

Students often fail to realise that it’s important to:

− be absolutely certain they have all that is required for the job BEFORE they apply

− (particularly with numeracy) refresh their skills before they take practice tests

Pitfalls of the online practice test revolution (2)

The quality of tests found through “Googling” is extremely variable

Many “free” tests are not psychometrically constructed

Unless they provide normed feedback reports, practice tests are of limited value

“Free” tests often suck students into “Buy 9 tests for £8” offers

Pitfalls of the online practice test revolution (3)

There’s a danger of our expertise being lost or compromised

All of us can use our guidance skills to help students make appropriate choices

Those of us with psychometric training can provide additional insight AND –

If we don’t use our knowledge we could lose it!

Features of a high quality practice service (1)I’d argue that we should work towards an offer that is:

Professional

well marketed & “owned” by the Careers Centre

Free

For all the students, staff (& graduates?) of the institutionStudents are actively discouraged from paying for tests

Good quality

Using psychometrically constructed productsIdeally, a variety of complimentary tools would be usedQuality & effectiveness of feedback to students is of primary importance

Features of a high quality practice service (2)I’d argue that we should work towards an offer that is:

Supported by guidance

Test practice provision is integrated into other guidance services

Ideally, psychometrically qualified practitioners are involved

Responsive

To the specific needs of students (individuals/groups)

Available online

For students to access easily in their own space

Introduced in group sessions

Both centrally and in courses

Why we like using Graduates First for our main test service delivery (1)

The tests are constructed psychometrically by experienced psychologists

It’s easy for students to use, free of charge, wherever they are

It enables students to replicate the online experience in their own room

It’s also ideal for introducing in group sessions, centrally or in departments

The reports are very detailed, containing normed scores and helpful tips

A key feature is the ability to see solutions for wrong answers

Why we like using Graduates First for our main test service delivery (2)

The branded portal gives us ownership

The administration option gives us control over users and usage stats

The technical support is quick and effective

It costs £795 per year but we can use it to deliver a more cost-effective, higher quality service to greater numbers than we did with SHL tests

Graduates First are very responsive to our suggestions for changes and have several major improvements in the pipeline