How to Access Free Assessments for Education and Training
Friday, October 28, 2022
The WPS Graduate School Alliance Program (GSAP) provides graduate programs in psychological and behavioral health professions with access to some of the most trusted and reliable assessments in use today—100% free.
“WPS started the program in 2013 to help professors and instructors provide real-world experience to graduate students,” explains WPS Senior Marketing Coordinator Lindsey Sandoval.
GSAP members can request up to three free online assessments each year. In some circumstances, paper assessments may be available. To qualify, applicants must be professors or training instructors at
- accredited, degree-conferring academic institutions;
- certified internship programs; or
- approved postdoctoral certification programs, training clinics, and workshops.
Tests available through GSAP are used in clinical and school psychology, speech–language therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling settings to measure
- sensory processing;
- autism;
- childhood anxiety;
- developmental behavior;
- adaptive behavior;
- oral and written language;
- social communication;
- self-concept;
- reading and reading readiness;
- school motivation and learning strategies;
- pragmatic language; and
- other skills, strengths, and diagnostic criteria.
GSAP membership can be useful to instructors and graduate students in several practical ways. Here’s a brief overview of the benefits.
GSAP provides students and instructors with authentic learning experiences.
The assessments available through GSAP are the same validated measures used by thousands of school and clinical psychologists, speech–language pathologists, occupational therapists, and other practitioners the world over.
“Students can get personal experience and training in how these measures work before they graduate, so they’re already familiar with the tools before they’re practicing professionally,” Sandoval says.
Each graduate student receives login credentials for the WPS Online Evaluation System (OES). The OES is a platform available to clinicians who buy an assessment for online use. Students and instructors have access to WPS Assessment Consultants and customer support as well as professional development opportunities—resources that can stay with them through their early years of professional practice.
“I am so grateful for this program. I teach many graduate students in ASD and supervise graduate interns from several universities. The GSAP program has allowed me to expose my students to these outstanding assessments at my clinic. Many graduate interns have commented on how easy the assessments are to use and interpret.”
—Kimberly Ho, PhD, CCC-SLP
Instructors can use GSAP assessments flexibly to achieve their instructional goals.
“The OES allows instructors to create classes and assign homework and projects involving the assessments,” Sandoval says. “And you can see how the grad students are doing.”
Individual assignments, peer collaborations, whole-class instruction—exactly how to integrate these validated measures into course planning is up to each instructor. Scaffold, instruct, coach, provide feedback—all as graduate students become familiar with the use of tests and technologies.
And because instructors can request up to three different assessments a year, over time students can explore a wide range of assessments.
GSAP gives students a chance to learn and practice telehealth assessment through the OES.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, school and clinical psychologists have seen a surge in demand for telehealth services. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 36% of all outpatient mental health and substance use visits now take place virtually (Lo et al., 2022). In response, telehealth education is making its way into many higher education programs.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science explored the growing number of doctoral-level clinical psychology programs that have begun training graduate students in telehealth services. Researchers found that just half of the programs with telehealth education provided instruction in how to adapt assessment for telehealth delivery. Roughly 64% of the instructors polled said they wished students had more telehealth education before they began their clinical internships and careers (Perle et al., 2022).
“Integrating telehealth education into graduate learning holds many benefits over teaching providers post-degree,” researchers said.
Some of those benefits include opportunities
- to apply what they’ve learned about telehealth delivery of assessments;
- to discuss ethics, legal considerations, and data security when delivering telehealth assessments; and
- to build students’ self-efficacy and comfort with telehealth assessment.
Many WPS assessments, including several available through GSAP, can be administered via telehealth. For a look at the WPS assessments available through the OES, go here. You may also wish to review our Remote Assessment Guidelines.
“We have found the GSAP program very helpful to our graduate students in school psychology as they are learning various assessment methodologies. Our students and their clients have found the WPS online platform easy to navigate. The assessments have helped provide our students with important client data to help hone their case conceptualization and report-writing skills.”
—Paul McCabe, PhD
Clinical and School Psychology
Brooklyn College—CUNY
Becoming an approved GSAP member is quick, easy, and free.
“Professors and instructors can apply online,” Sandoval says. “The process takes just a few minutes. Once we make sure the program qualifies, we’ll send a link with the requested tests, usually in just a few days.”
It really is that simple. To apply, complete the online GSAP Application. Want to know more? Explore the GSAP FAQs.
WPS supports the work you do in the clinic and the classroom, whether you’re a seasoned professional or a student working toward graduation and professional licensure. This alliance can last a lifetime.
Research and Resources:
Lo, J., Rae, M., Amin, K., Cox, C., Panchal, N., & Miller, B. F. (2022, March 15). Telehealth has played an outsized role meeting mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/telehealth-has-played-an-outsized-role-meeting-mental-health-needs-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Perle, J. G., Perle, A. R., Scarisbrick, D. M., & Mahoney, J. J., III. (2022). Educating for the future: A preliminary investigation of doctoral-level clinical psychology training program’s implementation of telehealth education. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 7(3), 351–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-022-00255-5