During the next month, PAR will be offering free Webinars on many of our newest products. Whether you have already begun using these assessments and are seeking a deeper understanding of the science behind the test or you are considering adding the assessment to your professional library, these Webinars will offer insight into the measure, explain administration and scoring details, and assist in interpretation. Each Webinar will give you the opportunity to ask questions and interact with knowledgeable PAR staff.

If you’ve been wondering about PAR’s newest assessments, take this opportunity to learn more!

Space is limited, so register today!

Introduction to the Academic Achievement Battery (AAB)–Screening Form
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
2:30 to 3 P.M. ET
Register here
Assess four areas of achievement throughout the life span

Introduction to the Academic Achievement Battery (AAB) –Comprehensive Version
Thursday, September 29, 2016
1 to 2 P.M. ET
Register here
Assess seven areas of achievement throughout the life span

Introduction to the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales, 2nd Edition (RIAS-2)
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
1 to 2 P.M. ET
Register here
Assess intelligence and its major components

Introduction to the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP)
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
1 to 2 P.M. ET
Register here
Assess visual and verbal memory in children, adolescents, and young adults

Overview of the Feifer Assessment of Reading
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
1 to 2 P.M. ET
Register here
Examine the underlying cognitive and linguistic processes that support proficient reading skills

Introduction to DBR Connect
Thursday, September 15, 2016
12 to 1 P.M. ET
Register here
Rate student behavior in minutes

Register today! Space is limited!

PAR prides itself on creating assessment products that are both high in quality and in value. The process of taking an idea and molding it into a useful product involves the hard work and dedication of many people, and although no single effort or particular phase of development is more important than another, some roles are naturally more visible than others. One department Customers may not be familiar with, but certainly benefit from, is the unwavering diligence of Quality Assurance.

Richard Brummer, MBA, M Ed IT, CSTE, Senior Manager of Quality Assurance (QA), helps shed some light on the role the QA department plays in the development of PAR products.

 

What is quality assurance?

Quality assurance is a continuous, unrelenting focus on the processes of product development.

Why is quality assurance important?

QA works closely with each print and software product from its initial design all the way through postproduction support, giving feedback about usability and accuracy.

“You cannot enhance a product’s quality during the final testing phases because that it too far down the road,” Brummer explains. “Quality begins at the very beginning.”

QA’s close involvement from the initial design ensures that any inaccuracies are corrected quickly, which saves time and money, and eliminates the risk of persisting errors.

How does the PAR QA process improve our assessment products?

Most companies enhance a product’s quality by investing all focus into testing the product in order to find and correct defects. While this approach is effective, it is also lacking because it does not necessarily make the product better; it simply provides a product without inaccuracies.

At PAR, a product that simply has no inaccuracies is not good enough.

“We take a more progressive and proactive approach during the entire product development lifecycle that focuses on maximizing the Customer experience with a product that is also free from defects,” Brummer says.

To do this, QA utilizes best practices developed by the software industry for usability, which they apply to both print and software products. It’s not enough to just say that our products work; they also have to work well, be easy to use, be useful, consistent, and pleasing to look at.

Every product’s forms and norms, for instance, are developed with the examiner in mind. Is there space for examiners to note every piece of important information they will need? Is everything clearly labeled? Is the pertinent information organized in a way that will make sense during administration and scoring?

“Whether designing a graphical user interface or a paper assessment form, it is paramount to highlight important information and present it in a readable fashion,” Brummer explains. Even if the forms and norms tables are technically accurate, anything that may be confusing or hard to read introduces the potential for user error, which increases the risk of the user misreporting results.

PAR’s confidence in each product can be largely attributed to QA’s strong commitment to each assessment.

You may know the Personality Assessment Screener (PAS) can help you assess a broad range of clinical problems. Here are five things about the PAS that you may not know:

1. The PAS screens for the major domains covered in the trusted Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Its 22 items are those from the PAI that are the most sensitive to a broad range of contemporary clinical problems.


2. The PAS requires only a 4th-grade reading level. This enables individuals with poor reading skills to provide accurate self-descriptions.


3. The PAS assesses the potential for emotional and behavioral problems. Items are organized into 10 different scores that represent 10 distinct clinical problem domains.


4. The PAS is designed for use as a triage instrument. It’s suitable for use in health care and mental health settings, corporate employee assistance programs, and college health services.


5. The PAS is quick and convenient. Administration takes just 10 minutes and is available in pencil and paper format or 24/7 via PARiConnect, our online assessment platform.

Learn more about the PAS today!

As the old adage goes, “Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.”

Though you may be passionate about a particular career or field of study, how do you know it will really make you happy? Nothing could be worse than studying for years to become a financial trader on Wall Street, for example, only to discover the first day on the job that you prefer a quieter, more stable, and more predictable type of working environment.

When considering a career, knowing more about what type of environment you prefer can impact job satisfaction. Do you prefer to work on a team or independently? Do you like positions of leadership? Do you desire recognition for a job well done?  Do you want a supportive employer? These are all aspects about yourself as an employee that you may not even realize. Employees who are a good fit have been shown to be happier, stay longer in a position, and be more productive.

The Work Values Inventory™ (WVI™) is a new test that measures work values (also known as vocational needs) to help users find job satisfaction by identifying a career that fits. It is based on and tied to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET). In just 10 minutes, users learn their top three work values (Achievement, Independence, Support, Relationships, Working Conditions, and Recognition). Using the WVI Occupations Finder, users then match their top work values to careers that are a good fit.

The WVI is self-administered, self-scored, and self-interpreted, and no special training is required. It benefits job seekers by helping them learn more about what they need in a position for job satisfaction. It also benefits career counselors, and it is a useful tool for human resource personnel when evaluating potential job candidates.

The WVI is an important part of the career personality puzzle—but it’s not the only part. The Working Styles Assessment™ (WSA™) evaluates work personality and approaches, such as initiative, cooperation, and innovation. The Self-Directed Search® (SDS®) examines aspirations, activities, competencies, and levels of interest in different occupations. Used together, these three tests help identify a user’s complete work personality to help him or her find a career that a fits.

Are you heading to Denver for the 2016 APA Convention? Make sure to stop by the PAR booth to say hi! We will have samples of new products on hand, so be sure to ask about our latest releases! Also, be sure to pick up a complimentary clipboard while you are at the booth.

Many PAR authors will be participating in sessions at APA, so take this opportunity to learn from the psychologists who created some of your favorite assessments. Here are just a few sessions we think you will enjoy. Check your program guide for locations.

Session 1044: Continuing Education Workshop #107: Advances in Addressing Violence—Assessment, Attachment, and Treatment
Thursday, August 4
8:00 AM to 3:50 PM
Lisa A. Firestone, coauthor of the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts™ (FAST™) and Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent™ (FASI™), Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™ (FAVT™), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™-Adolescent

Session 1305: Beyond the “Replication Crisis”—Diverse Considerations for Psychology's Future
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 4018: Integrating Science and Practice—Beneficial Theory–Detrimental Theory
Sunday, August 7
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 3357: Lee Gurel Lecture: Public Misunderstandings of Psychological Science and Their Implications for Teaching
Saturday, August 6
4:00 PM to 4:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 2022: Understanding and Reducing Cognitive Biases
Friday, August 5
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 1143: The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorder: Rationale and Research
Thursday, August 4
11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Leslie C. Morey, author of the Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®) and the Personality Assessment Inventory™–Adolescent (PAI®-A)

Session 1243: Sophisticated Simplicity—The Art of Writing Reader-Friendly Assessment Reports
Thursday, August 4
1:00 PM to 2:50 PM
Cecil R. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™, Second Edition (RIAS™-2), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), and more

Session 1262: Mental Health and Well-Being–II
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 2:50 PM
William M. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition (RCDS™-2) and Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition: Short Form (RCDS™-2:SF), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. (RADS-2™) and Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. Short Form (RADS-2™:SF), and more