Case Study
Patient Demographic: Client Age: 8 Sex: Female Gender: Female Grade: 3rd Ethnicity: African American Counseling Setting: School-based Type of Counseling: Individual and Family Presenting Problem: Defiance Diagnosis: Oppositional Defiant Disorder 313.81 (F91.3)
Mental Status Exam: Mental Status Exam: The client displays an angry affect and sits with her arms crossed. She is well dressed and well groomed. The client’s PGM repeatedly prompts her to say, “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am” when answering questions. The client sits slumped in her chair. She agrees to color in a feelings thermometer that reflects increased anger, sadness, and fear. Her insight is poor. The client often refuses to eat school lunch, and the PGM reports that the client is a picky ea
Presenting Problem: You are a school-based mental health counselor conducting an initial intake with an 8-year-old African American female in the 3rd grade. The client presents today with her paternal grandmother (PGM), the client’s legal guardian. The PGM states that the client is argumentative, refuses to take responsibility for her actions, and has a tantrum when she receives a consequence for her behavior. She reports that the client is restricted from “every single privilege indefinitely.” The client has been told she can regain privileges once she “learns to act her age.” The client states she is treated unfairly and “blamed for everything” at home and school. The client’s teacher reports that she has difficulty following directions, is easily annoyed by her classmates, and frequently loses her temper. The client’s grades are poor, and she is below grade level in reading. However, she enjoys art and proudly reports that one of her pictures came in 1st place and is hanging in the library.
Other Contexts: You are meeting with the client individually and providing parenting training with the client’s PGM. The client’s teacher has implemented a behavioral chart for the classroom, and you ensure the client is receiving appropriate reinforcement for targeted behaviors. The teacher believes the client’s behavior indicates ADHD, and you have agreed to conduct classroom observations. During the observation, you note that the client gets out of her seat multiple times to sharpen her pencil. While doing so, she glares at other students and is observed balling up her fists and threatening others. The teacher yells at the client to sit down and stop disrupting the classroom, which has little effect on the client’s behavior

Question: Which one of the following accurately describes criterion-referenced measurements?
(A): Measurements determine how a person’s knowledge or skills compare to someone with similar traits.
(B): Measurements compare a person’s knowledge or skills against a predetermined standard.
(C): Measurements compare a person’s knowledge or skills against a normed group.
(D): Measurements are ranked on a bell curve.

Correct Answer: Measurements compare a person’s knowledge or skills against a predetermined standard.
Explanation: Criterion-referenced measurements compare a person’s knowledge of skills against a predetermined standard. For example, goal attainment scaling is a criterion-referenced measure because it measures the client’s targeted behaviors, which is the predetermined standard or criterion. The client’s progress is compared with previous scores. Criterion-referenced tests often use cut scores to categorize predetermined standards. For example, the goal attainment scaling scores can be used to determine minimum, moderate, and significant improvement. Norm-referenced measurements compare a person’s knowledge or skills against a normed group, which can be ranked on a bell curve and compared with another person with similar traits. Examples of norm-referenced measures include pediatric growth charts or the SATs. Therefore, the correct answer is (C)
Competency: professional practice and ethics