Comparison of Degree Received and Performance on Licensing Examination

Psychology licensing boards perform the service of identifying those individuals who have pursued a course of training, received a graduate degree, and integrated a body of knowledge of a sufficient level in order to have the knowledge and competence necessary to function as psychologists in private practice. The course of study one may pursue varies within psychology, e.g., general-experimental, counseling, educational, o r clinical, as opposed to other learned professions which have much more focused curricula, e.g., law or medicine. In order to serve their function of identifying chose individuals who may practice independently, examining boards within the learned professions should approve for licensure those individuals who have achieved a minimum degree of professional socialization and knowledge acquisition necessary for independent practice. Because of the diverse backgrounds of applicants and the diverse courses of study which may lead to such socialization and acquisition of knowledge, psychology examining boards specifically should examine differentially the academic records of applicants as those records relate to performance o n both knowledge-based and cornpetency-based examinations. The present study compared the performance on the Professional Examination Service (1976) Examination of Professional Practice in Psychology with type of degree received. The examination is a written objective test used by 48 examining boards in the United States and Canada as part of their examination process. Individuals completing Form 4 of the licensing examination in Texas in 1975 were divided into those receiving the Doctor of Philosophy degree and those receiving the Dcctor of Mucation degree. Two samples (Group 1 = Ph.D.s, 5 3 pass, 9 fail; Ed.D.s, 7 pass. 5 fail; Group 2 = Ph.D.s, 6 0 pass, G fail; Ed.D.s, 1 4 pass, 6 fail) were thus formed. Passing level of the examination was set by the Texas Board at one-half standard deviation below the national mean. Chi squares were computed on degree received and pass-fail. Both samples showed that proportionally more individuals receiving a degree in psychology passed the examination than those receiving a degree in education (Group 1 x 2 = 4.69, P < .05; Group 2 x 2 = 5.55. P < .05) . t tests were computed on the differences berween the mean scores on the examination and demonstrated a significantly higher mean score for Ph.D.s than for Ed.D.s (Group 1 t = 5.13, P < ,001; Group 2 1 = 4.00, P < ,001) . These results are consistent with those reported by Terris (1973) . It can be inferred that this difference results from the body of knowledge provided to students in the two degree programs. The results also indicate that licensing boards have the responsibility to examine more closely the academic records of individuals who receive degrees in education and apply for certification as psychologists than those individuals who received degrees in psychology. Individuals in programs leading to a degree in education should have a high concentration of courses in psychology to ensure that such applicants have had exposure to the body of knowledge which constitutes psychology. Without such exposure it is not in the best interests of either the applicant or the public to license thosindividuals as psychologists

Degree (music · Applied Psychology · Counseling Practices and Supervision · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Composition of State Psychology Licensing Boards

  Open Access•J Ray Hays, Anita L Smith•Psychological Reports•1978

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• Perceived Professional Discrimination against the EdD Psychologist

  Open Access•Lawrence N Houston, Lawrence Houston•Psychological Reports•1983

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• Professional Certification in Counseling Psychology

  Open Access•Bruce R Fretz, David H Mills•The Counseling Psychologist•1981

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• Composition of State Psychology Licensing Boards

  Open Access•J Ray Hays, Anita L Smith•Psychological Reports•1978

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