Online Scoring and Reporting
Will the child’s name be uploaded on to the website?
No. All data will be held anonymously so that individual children cannot be identified. To generate a report, an ID number will be used in the form of simple numerical codes that cannot be linked to particular users or services. Only the psychologists who test a child will have access to the linkage between the names of children and the IDs used in the stored dataset and the onus will be on psychologists to keep their own records of the names of children and their associated identification numbers.
This information will not be stored on the GL Assessment online system. The reports will have a space onto which psychologists can write the name and address once it is printed or stored in their own systems.
Will child data be held permanently on the website? If so, for how long?
Yes, data regarding the child’s scores will be held indefinitely on the website. This will allow users to go back and mine information about a child’s previous scores and compare it to current scores.
What will GL Assessment do with the data psychologists input?
Data collected via the website will be essential for providing further normative information for specific groups using BAS3, particularly children with special needs. This data will be made available to users to help inform their work with niche groups of children, thus making BAS3 an even better overall assessment.
The data will also provide a means of further analysing and checking the properties of the scales. The data may also be used to plan and inform future versions of BAS3, and other closely-related products.
What will GL Assessment do with the data psychologists input?
Data collected via the website will be essential for providing further normative information for specific groups using BAS3, particularly children with special needs. This data will be made available to users to help inform their work with niche groups of children, thus making BAS3 an even better overall assessment.
The data will also provide a means of further analysing and checking the properties of the scales. The data may also be used to plan and inform future versions of BAS3, and other closely-related products.
Is the data held by GL Assessment subject to the Data Protection Act?
No. All data will be held anonymously so that individual children cannot be identified. This is relevant because it means that none of the data held by GL Assessment will be covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 (the DPA). In other words, it doesn’t qualify as “personal data” as defined in the DPA. The DPA only applies to “personal data”, ie. data that identifies a living individual. None of the data held by GL Assessment includes the child’s name and there is no way that GL Assessment can tie the data it holds to a particular child.
A child’s data will be stored by GL Assessment against a numerical identifier, an ID number, but only the psychologist who carries out the test will know which ID number relates to which child. GL Assessment never has the information to make this link, nor does it want access to it. The onus will therefore be on psychologists to keep their own records of the names of children and their associated identification numbers. ID numbers will be simple numerical codes that cannot be linked to particular users or services, other than by the psychologist.
Can GL Assessment provide us with a statement about data confidentiality?
GL Assessment regards data security as an extremely important issue and heavy security measures are in place for the scoring and reporting service. Data security statements are available within the SRS and these can be shared with parents and within local authorities / schools. GL Assessment complies with the ISO/IEC 27001 international standard regarding data security.
What is the cost implication of the online scoring?
The basic scoring service will be available free of charge. This will provide the same level of scoring information as is provided by the summary page on the current BAS2 record booklet (i.e. raw scores, T-scores, ability scores, composite scores).A small charge will be made for the additional value-added narrative reports, such as the Psychologist Report and the Parent Report. These reports will be highly editable, allowing free text to be added.
How do you manage the access to the online reports if you use BAS as part of a team of Psychologists?
New users have to ring GL Assessment Customer Services to be added – the telephone number is 0845 602 1937. Psychologists within a psychology team can access each others’ reports as the reports belong to an organisation, not to a user.
Is there a fee or restriction in numbers for how many Psychologists can access the online scoring?
The organisation (either a group of psychologists or an individual psychologist) has to register with GL Assessment by calling Customer Services on 0845 602 1937. If the organisation is a group of psychologists, then each individual currently has to be added by GL Assessment, too, so that we can safeguard and ensure that all users are qualified psychologists.
Does the online scoring compare the core scales to the achievement subscales and the YARC?
Yes.
Will the data from the first test conducted with an individual child be overwritten by a second subsequent test?
The software allows users to add more test data from a different testing date. The first set of data is retained.
Will the software give feedback scale by scale as opposed to when the entire test has been completed?
Psychologists can decide to assess a child using an individual scale, a combination of a few scales or the full set of scales. Individual scale results are provided in all reports.
Do I need to inform parents that information regarding their child’s scores is being held by GL Assessment?
No. Users of the service are under no obligation to advise parents that information about their child’s scores is being held and used by GL Assessment. This is because the data being held is not ‘personal data’ and as such, is not relevant to the Data Protection Act.