Empirically-Based Assessment Paper

Words: 1537
Pages: 7

General Information
The test being reviewed is called The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) and is written by Thomas M. Achenbach and Leslie A. Rescorla. The ASEBA was published in 2001 by the University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families. This test can be purchased online, and each form costs thirty dollars and is a non-profit organization. Each form is filled out in person and scored by those with proper training to do so.
Content Description
The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment measures child behavior, competencies, and adaptive functioning. There are three different forms that are given for this test: The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6 to 18 (CBCL/6-18), the Youth
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For the CBCL/6-18, there are 113 items, and the formatting of this form begins with demographics, then following are activities child is involved in, academic performance, disabilities, and other concerns. After are the 113 items regarding the child’s behaviors. For the YSR, there are 112 items, and the formatting is similar to the CBCL/6-18, however, some questions are not asked because the youth may not report on it. For the TRF, there are 113 items, and it begins with demographics, academic information, achievements the child may have had, and then onto the same 113 items as the other two …show more content…
The competence scale scores activities, social, and school and the numbers displayed are percentiles and T scores. The Competence Profile for the YSR is scored like the CBCL/6-18, but there is no school scale because there weren’t any questions asked on that subject on the Youth Self-Report form. The TRF focuses on adaptive functioning and scores for performance in academic subjects. These performances are rated on a scale by teachers and other school faculty on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 is far above grade, 5 is far above grade). The adaptive characteristics being assessed are working hard, behaving appropriately, learning, and happy. Syndrome scales focus on a set of problems: anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, and other problems. The scoring for this scale are ratings of 0, 1, or 2; high scores reflect numerous problems, which reflects deviance. For each, the clinical, borderline, and normal ranges are looked at to see if the scores follow under any of these categories. Computerized scoring for the competence scale uses bar graphs instead of line graphs like the hand scoring. The computer also scores internalizing, externalizing, total problems, and other problems; there is also a cross-informant comparison for each scale and there are also