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The Psychometric Properties Susan J. Maller of Intelligence Tests and Jason C. Immekus When Used With Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals: Practices and Recommendations Suppose a young, motivated deaf man, named Michael, seeks assistance from the state vocational rehabilitation agency. Michael hopes to attend Gallaudet University to study accounting. He sees a rehabilitation counselor for the deaf, Ruth, who is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), but who has no advanced training in psychological assessment or measurement. The psychologist under contract tests Michael, as part of the eligibility determination for services. The psychologist is not trained to work with the deaf and hard of hearing population, yet has tested countless deaf people with the assistance of a certified interpreter with no training in psychology. Ruth receives the psychological report and is surprised to learn that Michael obtained a Verbal IQ of 79. She finds the results strange, as Michael appeared to be very bright when they had chatted in her office. Combined with his above-average Performance IQ, his Full Scale IQ suggests that Michael does not appear to be a good candidate for the state to fund his education. Ruth argues that the test of his Verbal IQ does not seem to be a valid indicator of his ability, and she works hard to get Michael to Gallaudet anyway. Michael succeeds in college, but the bruises to his self-esteem remain. When Denise, who is profoundly deaf, was just 7 years old, her deaf parents decided that she would have a better social experience if she attended the state residential school. She was tested by Robert, the school psychologist, who was also deaf and who administered the Verbal Scale of a widely used intelligence test. Denise scored in the normal range, as compared with her hearing peers, which is about 15 points higher than most deaf examinees. Did her score mean that, as compared with her deaf peers, Denise (a) was gifted, (b) had better language skills, or (c) just got luckier by having a deaf psychologist? Did this score mean that Denise had average verbal intelligence, as compared with hearing peers? What did this score mean? Like many psychologists, Robert, in good faith, believed that the score told him something, even though he was not quite sure what. These cases may seem recognizable, because they are all based on true stories. They highlight some familiar themes that raise critical ethical questions regarding intelligence tests and testing practices with deaf and hard of hearing examinees. Specifically, how does the diverse nature of the deaf and hard of hearing population (e.g., in terms of hearing loss, educational experiences, socialization, communication modality) affect the meaning of test scores? Further, how is the concept of intelligence defined? How 7 5 76 Susan J. Maller and Jason C. Immekus are abstract definitions, also known as constructs, of intelligence operationalized? What evidence exists that the operational definitions (i.e., assessments, tests, instruments) measure what they claim to measure when used with deaf and hard of hearing examinees ? What guidelines exist for test developers and practitioners? Even if it seems appropriate to violate the guidelines, what are the social consequences (Messick, 1989) that may result? This chapter will help to sort out some of these issues. DEFINITIONS OF THE CONSTRUCT OF INTELLIGENCE Despite the fact that there is no single, widely accepted definition of the construct of intelligence, it remains one of the most widely investigated domains regarding individual differences. The French psychologist Binet, for example, characterized intelligence as an internal process critical to an individual’s ability to acquire and adapt information (Wolf, 1973). Wechsler (1944) defined intelligence as “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment” (p. 3). Horn and Cattell (1966) proposed that global or general intelligence is composed of two interrelated abilities: fluid (novel problem-solving, including pattern recognition, flexibility, and adaptability) and crystallized (influenced by verbal ability and educational, cultural, and environmental factors) intelligence. Other noteworthy perspectives of intelligence include Gardner’s (1993) position of multiple intelligences (e.g., mathematical, musical), as well as Feuerstein’s (1980) stance that it is dynamic and modifiable. Intelligence historically has been considered to be a critical determinant of important outcomes such as academic achievement, environmental adaptation, and functioning (Ceci, 1996). INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONALIZED Intelligence is operationalized in terms of intelligence tests. The roots of modern intelligence tests can be traced to the Binet and Simon scale (Binet & Simon, 1905), developed...

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