Title, editions and forms: R-FVII: 2 – Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory 2
Authors, publisher, publication date: It was originally published in 1975 by the American Association on
Mental Deficiency and consisted of separate test booklets for males and
females. A second edition was published
in 1981. The 2000 version was published
by Becker in order to edit out outmoded pictorial artwork and two add new
updated pictures of occupations (TEA, 2009).
Cost of test materials: Manual: $44.00, Occupational Title
Lists: $35.00; Test
Booklets: (20) $42.00 (Pro Ed, 2012).
Purpose of the test: measure of vocational interests
presented in a reading-free
Format (TEA, 2009).
Test type: paper-and-pencil career test, in particular, vocational interest test (TEA, 2011).
Theoretical basis: R-FVII: 2 is based on Super’s theory
of vocational interests. Super
classified vocational interests into expressions, manifestations, tests,
inventories of interests (Beekei, 1981).
User (evaluator) qualifications:
Level B that is a master’s in a relevant area, such as rehabilitation
counseling (Beekei, 1981).
Target populations: It is designed for use with
individuals with special needs, is untimed, can be used from ages 12 through 62
(TEA, 2009).
Norm groups: The 1971 norm group consisted of 8023
males and 7541 females. Males and
females were divided into subgroups, each one divided into age groups, where
both years and months are specified: mental retardation (males: 12-08 to 15-11
and 16-0 to 21-11; females: 12-08 to 15-11 and 16-0 to 21-11), learning
disabilities (12-10 to 15-11 and 16-0 to 19-10; females: 12-10 to 15-11 and
16-0 to 19-10), regular classroom (12-09 to 15-11 and 16-0 to 18-08; females: 12-09
to 15-11 to 16-0 to 18-04), disadvantaged (19-02 to 59-07; females: 19-02 to
59-09), and sheltered work (17-03 to 61-02; females: 17-03 to 61-02) (Beekei,
1981).
Reliability: Reliability varies from .70 to .80
that is moderately sufficient to strong. Internal consistency is r=.80, which is
strong (Beekei, 1981).
Validity: Validity varies from .2 to .3, which is not that good, but
still acceptable (Beekei, 1981).
Dimensions: vocational interests (Beekei, 1981).
Item types: 55 triads of pictures that describe occupations. In other words, there are 55 numbered rows
and each row has three pictures that describe different occupations (Beekei,
1981).
Scale definitions: There are 11 vocational areas are into 5 clusters: mechanical
(automotive, building trades), outdoor (animal care, horticulture), mechanical-outdoor
(automotive, building trades, animal care, horticulture, housekeeping), food
service-handling operations (food service, material handling), and
clerical-social service (Beekei, 1981).
Number of items per scale: At
least 11 pictures match each of the 5 vocational interest clusters (Beekei,
1981).
Subscale definitions: There are 11 vocational areas:
automotive, building trades, clerical, animal care, food service, patient care,
horticulture, housekeeping, personal service, laundry service, and materials
handling. These vocational interest
areas match with up to 50 jobs found in the The
Occupational
Title Lists-Second Edition. Those jobs match the 11 vocational areas
described above (Beekei, 1981).
Number of items per subscale: At
least 5 pictures match each of the 11 vocational interest areas, but there are
also pictures that match more than one vocational area (Beekei, 1981).
Administration: The test can be administered to
individuals and groups. And the test taking time is 30-40 minutes according to
the Texas Educational Agency (2009) and 45 minutes according to the manual (Beekei,
1981). The examiner reads the
instructions from the manual and makes sure that 5 minutes after the test
starts will check to see if test takers understood how to take the test. Instructions are made easy for people with
intellectual disability that the 1981 manual still calls “mental retardation”,
a term not any longer in use (Beekei, 1981).
Scoring/Interpretation: On the back of the test booklet, there is a form where answers are
divided into the 11 vocational areas marked with a letter from A to K. Answers are from “a” to “k”, but some of them
overlap with different vocational areas, so the same answer may also belong to
more than one boxes (capital letters that match vocational areas on the top
horizontal axis of the form). On the
vertical axes are numbers from 1-55 that refer to the questions (Beekei, 1981).
Next to them are the answers. If the answer is, let’s say “d”, but it
belongs to more than one interest area, then the examiner circles all “d” that
are found in more than one boxes. Then
examiner adds the scores for each interest area (Beekei, 1981). Then, the examiner copies everything to
scoring sheets, so he or she can get rid of test booklets and just focus on the
scores. Then, by using the manual
tables, examiner finds the t-score that compares the examinee’s score with the
norm sample’s scores, the percentile, and descriptive ratings (low, below
average, average, and high) (Beekei, 1981). Then, examiner computes the raw scores of the
clusters by adding the raw scores of the interest areas of each cluster and
then finds the cluster quotients, percentiles, and descriptive ratings (below
average, average, above average) (Beekei, 1981). Then, a profile of scores is completed and a
one-page report is filled out where the scores are interpreted, including the
highest and the lowest, and observation about the matching of scores and test
taker’s current job is made and recommendations are offered about job
alternatives(Beekei, 1981). Manual
tables for scoring are divided into male and female as well as age groups and
population categories (e.g. mental retardation, learning disabilities, regular
classroom, disadvantaged, and work sheltered) (Beekei, 1981).
Practical, ethical Legal, and multicultural
concerns (B): The 1981 manual needs to be updated as
it still calls intellectual disability “mental retardation”, a derogatory term
not any longer in use. Also, the manual
itself admits that although racist and other discriminatory attitudes have been
eliminated, gender/sex discrimination is still an issue in regard to the way
those 55 pictures portray various jobs.
The test is however designed especially for people with special needs,
such as intellectual disability and learning disabilities (Beekei, 1981), but
also people with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities
can use it (TEA, 2009). However, adults
with average or high IQ should take this test with caution, as it seems to
mostly target people with intellectual disability and limited skills.
Outside Resources (C): Texas Educational
Agency (2011)
Strengths: Reading-free individualized and
norm-referenced test.
Weaknesses: It still uses the derogatory and discriminatory
term “mental retardation”. Also, TEA
(2009) that this instrument has jobs that may be too easy or less interesting
to regular classroom students and adults with higher IQs (TEA, 2009).
References
Beekei, R.L. (1981). Revised
Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory. Manual; Columbus, Ohio: Elbern
Publications.
Pro Ed (2012)
Texas Education Agency (TEA) (2009). Transition and Vocational Assessment. Texas Guide for Effective Teaching, March, 1-27.
Retrieved from: http://www.txautism.net/docs/Guide/Evaluation/TransitionVocational.pdf
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