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Test Collection Policy

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Test Collection Policy

Ward E. Barnes Library Test Collection Access Policy

The purpose of the Test Collection is to provide qualified persons with samples of standardized tests for examination and study. A qualified person is defined as a faculty member whose field is involved with standardized tests, or a student of the college who is taking a course in which standardized tests are taught. It is essential that the use of the test collection be limited to the above user categories in order that the validity of tests is not compromised.1

Library collections are traditionally presumed to be open to the community they serve, yet the very nature of tests presupposes limitations on access in order to insure that test validity is not compromised. These limitations are, moreover, reinforced by the highly restrictive requirements imposed upon libraries and test users by many of the authors and publishers of tests. Compounding the ethical and scientific restrictions is the issue of copyright. Imposing limitations on access to information, as in the case of test collections, understandably requires clearly stated policies for use of the collection.1

Only those persons who are qualified by specific training and experience in a relevant area of assessment, and agree to safeguard their use, may access the Ward E. Barnes Library Test Collection. The only exception to this condition is a student (at the 300 level, or above) who has prior written approval from the faculty member who is teaching the relevant course and provides documentation to the Barnes Library indicating the student is enrolled in the appropriate course.

Materials will only be released to students who need them to meet course requirements, and upon prior written approval of the appropriate faculty member. Each semester, the faculty member must provide the Ward E. Barnes Library with a printed listing indicating the course name, course number, student name, and student number for all students enrolled in the class. Students requesting use of the Test Collection materials may be denied access if their name and student number have not been provided to the Barnes Library for the appropriate course.

Students may check out materials appropriate for a course only during the semester they are enrolled in that course, and with the prior written permission of their instructor.1

Test users have the responsibility to respect test copyrights… Legally and ethically, test users may not reproduce copyrighted materials for routine test use without consent of the copyright holder. These materials - in both paper and electronic form – include test items, ancillary forms such as answer sheets or profile forms, scoring templates, conversion tables of raw scores to derived scores, and table of norms.2

These procedures are in compliance with guidelines set forth by the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Test Collection Directory (Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association).

Access to psychological test materials (e.g. test booklets, protocols, administration
materials, scoring keys) should be granted only to qualified psychologists or other
professionals who use the material in their research or clinical practice. Students who use
the materials in the course of their research or clinical practice or as learners should be
directly supervised by a psychologist or other appropriate supervisor. For example, when testing materials are stored in a library, access must be limited to appropriate personnel and to students in training, only with the permission of the appropriate faculty member. Test materials sold for the purposes of student training must not be available to the
casual purchaser in college and university bookstores.1

References:

1. Standards for Educational & Psychological Testing, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, 1985. Statement on the Use of Secure Psychological Tests, Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA), American Psychological Association.

2. American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, Council on Measurement in Education: Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, D.C., AERA, 1999

3. Fehrmann PG & O’Brien NP (eds): Directory of test collections in academic, professional, and research libraries. Chicago, Ad Hoc Committee on the Test Collection Directory, Education and Behavior Sciences Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association, 2001.

4. Guide for the Development and Management of Test Collections with special emphasis on academic settings, 1985. Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Test Collections, Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association.