Dynamic testing in practice: shall I give you a hint

Dynamic assessment focuses on the differences between children s performance measured with dynamic tests compared to their performance on a static, intelligence test. Dynamic tests are supposed to provide more accurate indicators of the child s ability to learn and his or her instructability. The aim of this project is to investigate the contribution of dynamic testing procedures to educational settings and to psychodiagnostic assessment procedures. In a dynamic testing procedure, after a pretest, children receive a training session in which as much instruction or specific hints are provided as needed to solve a cognitive task independently. During the assessment individual problem-solving strategies and self-regulating behaviors are closely observed. The amount of help and type of instruction a child needs as well as the observed strategies have been shown to provide additional information about a child’s ability to learn and are important clues for a psychologist in guiding teachers and in fine-tuning instruction towards the child s educational level. The dynamic testing procedure seems to fit well in the recent developed model of needs or instruction-based assessment, in which the emphasis lies on recommendations- corresponding with the zone of proximal development- for teachers and parents. One part of this project is to explore dynamic assessment procedures which lead to more specific information about a child s need for instruction and starting points for (classroom) instruction. A recently developed reversal task has proven to reveal such valuable and qualitative information. Another question in this project concerns the suitability of outcomes and implications resulting from dynamic assessment and whether they fit with instruction-based assessment.