PAR understands that our Customers are the reason for our success. Your support and business keep PAR going. That's why we’ve never lost sight of how important it is to provide you with the outstanding Customer Support you deserve.
How do we do that? Our phones are answered live by our own Customer Support team located in our Florida headquarters. When you call PAR you will never hear a recorded menu. Averaging 12 years of experience at PAR, our reps are knowledgeable, friendly, intelligent people who know our products well and are committed to meeting your needs every time you call.
We strive to ensure you get the best of both worlds. Give us a call at 1.800.331.8378 and see for yourself.
Many psychiatric disorders are dimensional and presentations can vary widely, making it more difficult to treat effectively. Inspired by the hierarchical–dimensional model, the SPECTRA measures psychopathology at three levels of specificity and provides an overall estimate of the p-factor.
A new white paper from SPECTRA author Mark A. Blais, PsyD, helps you learn more about how to interpret results using this framework—building from the SPECTRA’s 12 clinical scales to the Internalizing, Externalizing, and Reality-Impairing spectra of psychopathology, to the overall global assessment of total psychopathological burden. The white paper offers clinical examples and a reproducible worksheet that can be used to enhance your interpretation.
Learn more today!
In order to facilitate research using the NEO Inventories, we are now offering a comprehensive bibliography through Mendeley, a free reference management tool. In addition, a white paper describing this research repository and explaining its creation and use it has been created.
After accessing the Mendeley link, you will be prompted to create an account. Mendeley includes a desktop application and a cloud-based system for ease of use when finding references and citing them within a document. Use of this free resource is encouraged to facilitate research on the topics related to that particular assessment. Individuals who do not wish to create an online account may visit the Resources tab on the product page to view a Word documents of the bibliography.
In addition to the NEO, PAR offers Mendeley bibliographies for many of our products. Links are provided on the white paper.
Test anxiety is part of life for many college students. After all, it’s natural to worry about performance and want to do well, and mild nervousness before a test can actually improve performance. For most, the symptoms disappear when the test is over. But for students with an anxiety disorder, test anxiety can be overwhelming and all-consuming, leading to symptoms like difficulty concentrating, rapid breathing, dry mouth, and even panic. For these students, the symptoms don’t stop when the test is over.
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in America, with an estimated 42 million adults diagnosed. About 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life—and half of them develop conditions by the age of 14. Some of these young people will enter college not knowing they suffer from a treatable condition.
Students with undiagnosed anxiety are likely to struggle with physical, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms. They could even be at risk of failing—or dropping—out of school.
The Kane Learning Difficulties Assessment (KLDA) is a self-report screening tool developed to identify college students who struggle with a condition that affects learning such as an anxiety disorder, ADHD, an executive function deficit, or a specific learning disability.
The KLDA can help your students get the help they need to succeed in college. In just 15 minutes, it evaluates key areas including reading, writing, math, organization, time management, anxiety, and more. Administration is available on PARiConnect 3.0, the fastest and most reliable online platform in the assessment industry, so students can complete it on their own time, 24/7.
The KLDA report provides valuable information about the student’s individual learning strengths and weaknesses—and includes tailored interventions and accommodations that address them—and identifies students who are at risk of an undiagnosed condition like anxiety.
Help your struggling students keep their college careers—and their lives—on track with the KLDA.
This week’s blog was written by Teri Lyon. Teri is a Senior Technical Support Specialist at PAR. She has been with PAR for more than 20 years. She enjoys punk music and painting.
I like to watch CBS Sunday Morning every weekend. Recently, I watched a segment on the prevalence of dyslexia in the prison population, which immediately caught my attention. Working at PAR and knowing Dr. Steven Feifer, I know how important it is to diagnose dyslexia and other learning disabilities early so a student can achieve his or her full potential. What I did not realize are the numbers behind this issue.
The segment told of a study that shows almost 50% of the prison population in Texas has dyslexia. In addition, approximately 80% of inmates are functionally illiterate. The segment went on to talk about how prisons are addressing this issue with more funding and prison reform. Although these things certainly help people in prison lead better lives, this does not prevent these individuals from ending up there in the first place.
Although this is not a case where you can throw money at a problem, we do know that schools in more affluent communities have higher test scores and graduation rates. While the parents and students may have more resources and may not have concerns like how to study while hungry, you can’t ignore how much better they do. Recently, the thinking on spending in education has changed. Studies show significant long-term gains for students when educational spending increased. The issue is that districts need to determine the best way to use their money.
Currently, the U.S. spends more on prisons than we do on education. California alone spends $53,147 more per year on a prisoner than it does a student. Overall, there are 15 states that spend more than $27,000 a year more per prisoner than they do per student.
Even with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there are kids who fall between the cracks of education and into the justice system. It’s clear that this issue is multifaceted and complicated. From starting mandatory schooling at an earlier age, to better training for teachers, there are many ways this issue can be addressed. One thing is clear, though, we have to start somewhere.
I think it’s important to take a step back and realize how PAR instruments can help with greater societal issues. Because this is such an important topic, I immediately sent letters to both my congressman and senator letting them know my thoughts. Hopefully, this will get a very important subject the attention that it deserves.
Lack of understanding about language acquisition. Inadequate or inappropriate psychoeducational assessment practices. Restricted access to effective understanding.
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) position lists these as some of the reasons why English language learners (ELL) are overrepresented in special education and underrepresented in gifted programs.
In U.S. schools, more than 77% of ELL students speak Spanish. Based on their educational history and exposure to the language and the culture, these students will exhibit different degrees of acculturation and English-language proficiency.
Cognitive assessment that relies on verbal interaction and response in English is naturally unfair for individuals who are still learning the language. Nonverbal assessment is not free from cultural bias, either, and using translations or interpreters is not ideal.
The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales, Second Edition (RIAS-2) evaluates verbal intelligence, nonverbal intelligence, memory, and speeded processing and provides an estimate of general intelligence in under an hour. The new RIAS-2 Spanish Form with Spanish Responses provides correct Spanish-language responses for the RIAS-2 Guess What, Verbal Reasoning, and What’s Missing subtests. Designed for use with Spanish bilingual and ELL students, it allows examinees to answer items in English or in Spanish, providing a practical and more ecologically valid way to test the intelligence of individuals who are still learning English.
Acceptable Spanish responses represent Spanish dialects most commonly spoken in the U.S., including Mexican, Central American, Caribbean, Colonial Spanish, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Venezuelan, Colombian, and Argentinian. The form also includes a new Language Acculturation Meter, a tool that provides a framework for test administration and interpretation.
The goal, after all, is to assess general intelligence, not English-language knowledge or fluency.
As of 2018, there were nearly 60 million Hispanic people living in the U.S., and about 41 million of those people speak Spanish in the home. Students who take part in language assistance programs are often referred to as English language learners (ELL).
Language acculturation is a process that occurs over a period of time, and it will be different for everyone due to age, education, length of time in the U.S., and adaptation to prevailing social, linguistic, psychological, and cultural norms. In U.S. schools, more than 77% of ELL students speak Spanish, and these students will exhibit different degrees of acculturation.
When these students need psychological assessment to address academic concerns, to determine appropriate classroom placement, or for any other reason, their level of language acculturation could have an effect on test results—and decisions based on those results could have lasting consequences.
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) position notes “inadequate or inappropriate psychoeducational assessment practices, restricted access to effective instruction, [and] lack of understanding about language acquisition” as reasons for overrepresentation of ELL students in special education and underrepresentation in gifted programs.
The Language Acculturation Meter is a new tool that will ensure you are assessing bilingual and ELL individuals appropriately. It provides information about the examinee’s educational history, including where he or she attended school, in what language, and for how long; his or her level of everyday English-language use; and self-identified English comprehension in everyday scenarios.
This knowledge sets the stage for an ecologically valid assessment by providing a framework that helps you determine the most appropriate assessment—and get the most accurate results.
The Language Acculturation Meter and accompanying White Paper are available to download at no charge. Learn more or download.
Each year, PAR employees take part in a week-long United Way fundraising campaign. For more than 25 years, 100% of PAR staff members have contributed during our annual drive. This year, we exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in more than $100,408.34 in employee contributions to help United Way Suncoast and their partner agencies! We are proud to say that through our involvement with United Way, we will help make a difference in the lives of so many people in the Tampa Bay area.
This year, our theme was “Make Your Move,” and staff were divided into different chess-piece-themed teams. To see a few photos of our week, check out PAR’s new Instagram account.
Learn more about how you can help United Way in your community!
Each year, PAR employees take part in a week-long United Way fundraising campaign. For more than 25 years, 100% of PAR staff members have contributed during our annual drive. We are hoping that this year will be no different! Follow along with us on our new Instagram account to see what we are up to this week!
Many new college students are away from home for the first time, and, for the first time, they must manage and organize their lives themselves. Coupled with the rigors of college academics, these students can easily get overwhelmed. Students with anxiety disorders or learning disabilities may struggle even more. But what about students who aren’t aware that they have a condition that may affect learning? These students may even be at risk of dropping—or even failing—out of school.
The Kane Learning Difficulties Assessment (KLDA) is a self-report screening tool developed to identify college students who struggle unknowingly with a condition that affects learning, such as an anxiety disorder, ADHD, an executive function deficit, or a specific learning disability.
More than 40 million adults in the United States ages 18 and older have an anxiety disorder—yet only 37% of them seek treatment—and up to 44% of individuals with an attention deficit disorder were first identified at the postsecondary level.
The KLDA can help your students get back on track. In just 15 minutes, it evaluates key areas including reading, writing, math, organization, time management, anxiety, and more. Administration is available on PARiConnect 3.0, the fastest and most reliable online platform in the assessment industry, so students can complete it on their own time, 24/7. The KLDA report provides valuable information about the student’s individual learning strengths and weaknesses—and includes tailored interventions and accommodations that address them—and identifies students who are at risk of an undiagnosed learning difficulty so they can get the help they need.
Help your struggling students keep their college careers—and their lives—on track. Learn more about the KLDA.