Psychological Tests Used by Disability Evaluators

When being tested for disability, a psychological assessment is an important part of the overall process of determining eligibility for services. In general, a thorough psychological assessment for such purposes consists of tests that measure general intelligence, memory, academic level and emotional status. Though the particular tests may vary slightly from clinician to clinician based on education and credentials, there does exist a common battery of tests used to determine disability.

Intelligence

• The two most common IQ tests used as part of a standard psychological battery are the Stanford-Binet Test and tests from the Wechsler Series. The Wechsler Series tests tend to be used by disability examiners because they are easy to administer and break down IQ into manageable parts. Using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd Edition, the examiner will be able to produce a Full Scale IQ, a Verbal IQ and a Visual IQ. Such information is helpful when determining return-to-work status.

Memory

• Memory testing is another important aspect of a disability evaluation. As noted, psychologist David Wechsler has created a series of tests that examine intelligence. His series also includes the popular memory test The Wechsler Memory Scale, which measures visual and verbal memory, as well as short-term memory, also called working memory. Other common memory measures include the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the Brief Visual Memory Test.

Academic

• Academic screening contributes to a disability evaluation because it provides information about an applicant's reading, spelling and mathematics skills level. A common academic screening tool is the Wide Range Achievement Test. This test is relatively quick and gives grade level and standard score information in regards to word reading, basic spelling and simple numerical operations.

Emotional Status

• Psychological batteries include a thorough check of emotional status. A very common measure is the self-report Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 2nd edition (MMPI-2), which tests various aspects of personality and psychological stability. In his text on psychological assessment, psychologist Gary Groth-Marnat describes the MMPI-2 as "the most widely used clinical personality inventory, with more than 10,000 published references." Thus, this popular test remains a cornerstone of a complete psychological battery.