Below follows a four-fold discussion and analysis of the SSAIS-R psychometric test. It begins with an in-depth description of the test, linking with what the test measures. Then moving on to motivation for whether it was a good choice or not, and lastly identifying key problems with the psychometric test.
An in-depth description of the test SSAIS-R stands for Senior South African Intelligence Scales-Revised. This test has played a central role in the intelligence testing of South African children (Cockcroft, 2013). The test consists of nine core subsets, these being: five verbal and four non-verbal. There is also two additional “subtests” available however those need not be dealt with in this description.
As previously mentioned the verbal scale of this test has five components to it, namely: ‘vocabulary’, ‘comprehension’, ‘similarities’, ‘number problems’ and ‘story memory’ (Cockcroft, 2013). The ‘vocabulary component’ is intended to measure receptive language …show more content…
The teacher already mentioned that he is not progressing well at school because he struggles with reading. As much as the counsellor was concerned with his cognitive abilities it would have been better if he had first administered a test which is designed to deal with reading ability. The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised (Neale), would have been an appropriate starting point for the counsellor to consider. This is because this test specifically deals with reading in depth. It tests the three main aspects of reading. Namely: reading rate, accuracy and comprehension. Although this test was standardized on a sample of British children, it still provides a measure of a child’s ability to demonstrate their understanding of a text and show skills which are akin to those required for successful reading