Psychometric Testing: From Test Scores to Work-Related Limitations (Presented by the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Thomas A. Krause, Of Counsel | NOSSCR

Thomas A. (Tom) Krause is NOSSCR’s Of Counsel, after having served as NOSSCR’s first ever Litigation Director since 2023. He is charged with identifying and pursuing impact litigation for the benefit of NOSSCR members and their clients.

• Education & Credentials

Tom began his legal career with the Legal Services Corp. of Iowa on November 29, 1982, and was admitted to the Iowa Bar shortly thereafter.

• Recognition & Leadership

Tom has been a Sustaining Member of NOSSCR for 29 years and served on the NOSSCR Board for eight years.

• Professional Involvement

He has presented at numerous NOSSCR conferences and Eighth Circuit Social Security Disability Law conferences. Tom joined NOSSCR as a Sustaining Member in 1995 upon entering private practice, and he writes the “Krause Chronicles” column for NOSSCR’s Social Security Forum.

• Experience

Tom has represented claimants seeking disability benefits for more than 40 years. He worked for about 14 years for Legal Services Corp. of Iowa (now Iowa Legal Aid), initially representing clients on a variety of issues, but later focusing on Social Security Disability/SSI and Medicaid claims. Tom then spent 21 years in private practice, primarily handling federal court appeals of disability claims.

From 2018 to 2023, Tom was a Senior Attorney and Assistant Litigation Director for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, leading SMRLS’ Social Security Practice Group. Tom’s first reported case was Baugus v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 717 F.2d 443 (8th Cir. 1983) (accuracy of hypothetical question; on the brief). Class actions include Parker v. Barnhart, 174 F.Supp.2d 920 (N.D. Iowa 2001) (SSA User Fee challenge); Surrell v. Willman, 16 F.Supp.2d 1085 (D.Neb. 1998) (DDS class action); and Laird v. Stilwill, 969 F.Supp. 1167 (N.D. Iowa, 1997) (DDS class action).

Other cases of note include Hesseltine v. Colvin, 800 F.3d 461 (8th Cir. 2015) (Listing 12.05C and Intellectual Disability); Hutchison for Hutchison v. Chater, 99 F.3d 286 (8th Cir. 1996) (non-acquiescence; SSI deeming); Newton v. Chater, 92 F.3d 688 (8th Cir. 1996) (Trial Work Period prior to award of benefits).

As NOSSCR’s Litigation Director, Tom has worked on vocational and Dictionary of Occupational Titles issues, fraudulent consultative examinations, and medical records issues, including a complaint NOSSCR filed against a vocational expert alleging fraud or similar fault.

SESSION 1 – Psychometric Testing: From Test Scores to Work-Related Limitations | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

This session addresses a recurring problem in disability practice: a neuropsychological report an ALJ finds credible but cannot apply, because nothing in it translates test scores into the vocabulary SSA uses. Using the WAIS-5 (published 2024) as the working example, it walks the inferences that separate a score from a work-related limitation, maps the primary indexes and subtests to the mental abilities listed at POMS DI 25020.010B.3, and explains the GAI–CPI split. It also covers what intelligence testing does not measure, such as memory, executive function, sustained attention, adaptive functioning, premorbid baseline, and validity — and which instruments do. Practical material includes the elements of Listing 12.05, five common ways representatives overclaim, and specific language to include in a letter to an examiner.