Canada's Reaction to Misleading Advertisements for Pre-School Screening Tests

Abstract

Advertisements for pre-school screening tests often contain statements that are not supported by research findings. Because exaggerated advertising for this particular class of instrument could lead to test misuse and result in harm to many children, the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychological Association authorized the development of a set of guidelines to assist authors and publishers in the preparation of advertising copy. Although these guidelines were distributed to school psychologists and publishing firms within Canada, the purpose of this report is to bring the guidelines to the attention of the broader community of school psychologists and publishing firms outside Canada in an effort to correct this problem.