PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS - the measures whose criteria

for passing or failing have decided beforehand.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS - are objective and standardized
measure of a sample of human behavior (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997).
 These are instruments with three defining characteristics:
 It is a sample of human behavior.
 The sample is obtained under standardized conditions.
 There are established rules for scoring or for obtaining
quantitative information from the behavior sample.
PYSCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT- the process of assigning
numbers (i.e. test scores) to persons in such a way that some attributes
of the person being numbers.
GENERAL TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
INDIVIDUAL TESTS - instruments that are administered one-on-
one, face-to-face.
GROUP TESTS - can be administered to a group and usually done on
a paper-pencil method; and can be administered individually
SPEED TESTS - administered under a prescribed time limit usually
for a short period of time and not enough for an individual to finish
answering the entire test. The level of difficulty is the same for all
items.
POWER TESTS - measure competencies and abilities. The time limit
prescribed is usually enough for one to accomplish the entire test.

 These tests are categorized according to the manner of VERBAL TESTS - instruments that involve words to measure a
administration, purpose, and nature. particular domain.
 Administration - Individual; Group
NONVERBAL TESTS - instruments that do not use words, rather,
 Item Format - Objective; Projective
they use geometrical drawing or patterns.
 Response Format - Verbal; Performance
 Domain Measures - Cognitive; Affective COGNITIVE TESTS - measure thinking skills.
Types of Test AFFECTIVE TESTS - measure personality, interests, values, etc.
STANDARDIZED TESTS - have prescribed directions for TESTING OF HUMAN ABILITY
administration, scoring, and interpretation. Examples: MBTI, MMPI,
SB-5, WAIS

NON-STANDARDIZED TESTS (Informal Tests) - exemplified by

teacher-made tests either for formative or summative evaluation of
student performance. Examples: Prelim Exam, Quizzes

NORM-REFERENCED TESTS - instruments whose score

interpretation is based on the performance of a particular group.
TESTS FOR SPECIAL POPULATION - developed similarly for
use with persons who cannot be properly or adequately examined with
traditional instruments, such as the individual scales; follows
performance, or nonverbal tasks.
PERSONALITY TESTS - that are used for the measurement of
emotional, motivational, interpersonal, and attitudinal characteristics.
Approaches to the Development of Personality Assessment
 Empirical-Criterion Keying - a method for developing
personality inventories in which the items (presumed to
measure one or more traits) are created and then administered
to a criterion group of people known to possess a certain
characteristic (e.g., antisocial behavior, significant anxiety,
exaggerated concern about physical health) and to a control
group of people without the characteristic. Only those items
that demonstrate an ability to distinguish between the two
groups are chosen for inclusion in the final inventory.
 Factor Analysis - a method of finding the minimum number of
dimensions or factors for explaining the largest number of
variables.
 EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS - entails
estimating, or extracting factors; deciding how many
factors to retain: and rotating factors to an interpretable
orientation
 CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS - the
degree to which a hypothetical model - which includes
factors, fits the actual data.
 Personality Theories - the result of hypotheses, experiments,
case studies, and clinical research led by scientists in the
psychology and human behavior field.
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES - are relatively unstructured tasks; a
task that permits almost an unlimited variety of possible responses; a
disguised procedure task.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING - the process of measuring
psychology-related variables by means of devices or procedures
designed to obtain a sample of behavior.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT - the gathering and integration
of psychology-related data for the purpose of making a psychological
evaluation that is accomplished through the use of tools such as tests,
interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and especially
designed apparatuses and measurement procedures.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT
 COLLABORATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT -
the assessor and the assessee work as partners from initial
contact through final feedback
 THERAPEUTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT -
therapeutic self-discovery and new understandings are
encouraged throughout the assessment process
 DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT - the interactive approach to
psychological assessment that usually follows a model of:
evaluation> intervention> evaluation. Interactive, changing,
and varying nature of assessment
Reasons for using the test Acquiring Knowledge Relating to the Client

- Consider the problem, the adequacy of the tests you will use,
and specific applicability of that test to an individual’s unique
situation.
- Competence in merely administering and scoring tests is
insufficient to conduct effective assessment.
 Contextualize the problem

Data Collection

- This may come from a wide variety of sources, the most

frequent of which are test scores, personal history, behavioral
Phases of Psychological Assessment observations, and interview data.
- Obtain from school records, previous psychological
observations, medical records, police reports, or discuss the
client with parents or teachers.

Interpreting the Data

Evaluating the
referral question -- Acquiring
Interpreting the - Description of the client’s present level of functioning
the "backbone" of knowledge relating Data collection
data
psychological to the content - Considerations relating to etiology – the cause(s) of the
report writing.
condition.
- Prognosis - likely outcome or course of a condition; the chance
of recovery or recurrence.
- Treatment recommendations
- Clinicians should also pay careful attention to research on the
Evaluating the Referral Question
implications of incremental validity and continually be aware
- Uncover hidden agendas, unspoken expectations, and complex of the limitations and possible inaccuracies involved in clinical
interpersonal relationships, as well as explain the specific judgment.
limitations of psychological tests.
 Assets and limitations of psychological tests clarify
the requests they receive
- Contact the referral source at different stages in the assessment
process.
 Initial data collection
Development of inferences
Reject/modify/accept inference
Develop and integrate hypothesis
Dynamic model of the person
Situational variables
Prediction of behavior
THE TEST- defined simply as a measuring device or procedure.
PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST- refers to a device or procedure designed
to measure variables related to psychology:
TOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
 INTERVIEW- a method of gathering information through
direct communication involving reciprocal exchange.
- Differences: purpose, length, and nature.
- Uses: diagnosis, treatment, selection, decisions.
- Panel interview – involves multiple interviewers.
 Advantage: minimizes the idiosyncratic biases of a lone
interviewer.
 Disadvantage: costly; the use of multiple interviewers
may not be justified
 PORTFOLIO - contains a sample of one’s ability and
accomplishment which can be used for evaluation.
- Case History Data - are the records, transcripts, and other
accounts in written, pictorial, or other form that preserve
archival information, official and informal accounts, and other
data and items relevant to the assesse.
- Case Study or Case History - a report of illustrative account
concerning a person or an event that was compiled on the basis
of case history data.
 BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION - monitoring the actions of
others or oneself by visual or electronic means while recording
quantitative or qualitative information regarding the actions;
aids the development of therapeutic intervention which is
extremely useful in institutional settings such as schools,
hospitals, prisons, and group homes.
- Naturalistic Observation - observing behaviors in their
natural setting in which behavior would typically be expected
to occur.
 ROLE-PLAY TESTS - acting in improvised or partially
improvised part in a simulated situation. Assesses are directed
to act as if they were in a particular situation.
- Evaluation: expressed thoughts, behaviors, abilities, and
other related variables.
- can be used as both a tool of assessment and a measure
 SIMULATION – the realistic imitation of a real world process
which may involve the use of computer programs and/or
modelled job equipment. In contrast to being directed,
assessees are told to act as themselves during simulations.
 COMPUTERS AS TOOLS – Computer Assisted
Psychological assessment entails the use of computers in:
 presenting and administering test items and instructions
 quick and efficient scoring with transformation to
standard scores
 can be programmed to generate basic test result
interpretations
- services using computers may include: local processing
terminal to mainframe computer, and through a remote
central location.
- Some other computer-related characteristics:
 computers can store large amounts of data like item
banks or normative data
 computers allow for control over other devices such as
optical scanners, printers, and video disc presentations
 allows for Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) – refers
to the computer’s ability to tailor the test taken by the
individual according to his/her test-taking ability or
test-taking pattern.
- Interpretive Reports - distinguished by its inclusion of
numerical or narrative interpretive statements in the
report.
- Consultative Reports - written in language appropriate
for communication between assessment professionals
and may provide expert opinion concerning data
analysis.
- Integrative Report - employs previously collected data
into the test report.
PAPER AND PENCIL VS COMPUTER FORMAT
 Method of presentation – Which one has clearer pictures or
more readable items?
 Requirements of the task or test-taking strategies – Can you
go back and review earlier items? How about answer later
items first? Are there time limits per question?
 Method of responding – Will they be required to check items,
shade, touch the screen? Are blank responses acceptable?
 Method of interpretation – Are norms for a pen and paper test
acceptable to computerized versions?
PARTICIPANTS IN THE TESTING PROCESS AND THEIR
ROLES
 Test authors and developers - conceive, prepare, and develop
test; also find a way to disseminate their tests.
 Test publishers - publish, market, and sell tests, thus
controlling their distribution.
 Test reviewers – prepare evaluative critiques of tests based on
technical and practical merits.
 Test users - select or decide which specific test/s will be used
for some purposes; may also act as examiners or scorers.
 Test sponsors - institutional boards or agencies that contact
test developers or publishers for various testing services.
 Test administrators or examiner - administer the test either
to one individual at a time or to groups.
 Test takers - take the test by choice or necessity.
 Test scorers - tally the raw scores and transform into test
scores through objective or mechanical scoring or through the
application of evaluative judgment.
 Test score interpreters - interpret test results to consumers
such as; individual test takers or their relatives, other
professionals, or organizations of various kinds.
Test takers may also vary in variables including…
 amount of test anxiety experienced and how it may
significantly affect test results
 capacity and willingness to cooperate with the examiner
 physical or emotional disturbances experienced during
testing
 extent to which they are predisposed to agreeing or
disagreeing when presented with stimulus statements
 extent of prior coaching received
 extent to which they are lucky or “can beat the odds” in a test
ASSESSMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
 Assessing people with disabilities requires accommodation –
an adaptation of a test or procedure/substitution of one test for
another to make the assessment more suitable for the person
with special needs.
 Accommodation of special needs allows for alternate
assessments – the evaluative or diagnostic procedure that
varies from the standardized way of measurement.
 Forms of accommodation:
1. The form of the test as presented to the test taker
2. The way responses to the tests are obtained
3. Modification of the physical environment
4. Modifications of the interpersonal environment
SETTINGS WHERE ASSESSMENTS ARE CONDUCTED
 EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS - helps to identify children
who may have special needs; diagnostic tests and/or
achievement tests
 CLINICAL SETTINGS - for screening and or diagnosing
behavioral problems; may be intelligence, personality,
neuropsychological tests, or other specialized instruments
depending on the presenting or suspected problem area.
 COUNSELING SETTINGS - aims to improve the assesee’s
adjustment, productivity, or some related variables; may be
personality, interest, attitude, and values tests.
 GERIATRIC SETTINGS - quality of life assessment which
measures variables related to perceived stress, loneliness,
sources of satisfaction, personal values, quality of living
conditions, and quality of friendships and social support.
 BUSINESS & MILITARY SETTINGS - decision making
about the careers of the personnel.
 GOVERNMENTAL & ORGANIZATIONAL
CREDENTIALING - licensing or certifying exams.
 ACADEMIC RESEARCH SETTINGS - sound knowledge
of measurement principles and assessment tools are required
prior to research publication.
PROTOCOL - typically refers to the form or sheet or booklet on
which a test taker's responses are entered. • May also be used to refer
to a description of a set of test-or assessment-related procedures.
RAPPORT - the working relationship between the examiner and the
examinees.
ACCOMMODATION - the adaptation of a test, procedure, or
situation or the substitution of one test for another, to make the
assessment more suitable for an assessee without an exceptional need.
TEST USER QUALIFICATION LEVELS
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT TESTS
 TEST CATALOGUES - usually contain only a brief
description of the test and seldom contain the kind of detailed
technical information.
 TEST MANUALS - detailed information concerning the
development if a particular test and technical information
relating to it.
 REFERENCE VOLUMES - periodically updated which
provides detailed information for each test listed; Mental
Measurements Yearbook.
 JOURNAL ARTICLES - contain reviews of the test, updated,
or dependent studies of its psychometric soundness, or
examples of how the instrument was used in either research or
applied context.
 ONLINE DATABASES - maintained by APA; PsycINFO,
ClinPSYC, PsyARTICLES, etc.
BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
 20th century France - the roots of contemporary psychological
testing and assessment.
 1905 - Alfred Binet and a colleague published a test to help
place Paris school children in classes.
 1917 World War I - the military needed a way to screen large
numbers of recruits quickly for intellectual and emotional
problems.
 World War II - military depend even more on psychological
tests to screen recruits for the service.
 Post-war - more and more tests purporting to measure an ever-
widening array of psychological variables were developed and
used.
PROMINENT FIGURES IN THE HISTORY OF
PSYCHOMETRICS
 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES – “In spite of our similarities,
no two humans are exactly the same.”
CHARLES DARWIN - believed that some of the individual
differences are more adaptive than others; individual differences, over
time, lead to more complex, intelligent organisms.
FRANCIS GALTON - cousin of Charles Darwin; he was an applied
Darwinist and claimed that some people possessed characteristics that
made them more fit than others; wrote Hereditary Genius (1869).
- set up an anthropometric laboratory at the International
Exposition of 1884; he also noted that persons with
mental retardation also tend to have diminished ability
to discriminate among heat, cold, and pain.
CHARLES SPEARMAN - had been trying to prove Galton’s
hypothesis concerning the link between intelligence and visual acuity.
- expanded the use of correlational methods pioneered by
Galton and Karl Pearson, and provided the conceptual
foundation for factor analysis, a technique for reducing
a large number of variables to a smaller set of factors
that would become central to the advancement of
testing and trait theory; devised a theory of intelligence
that emphasized a general intelligence factor (g) present
in all intellectual activities.
KARL PEARSON - famous student of Galton; continued Galton’s
early work with statistical regression.
- invented the formula for the coefficient of correlation;
Pearson’s r.
JAMES MCKEEN CATTELL - first person who used the term
mental test; made a dissertation on reaction time based upon Galton’s
work.
- tried to link various measures of simple discriminative,
perceptive, and associative power to independent estimates of
intellectual level, such as school grades.
 EARLY EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
- Early 19th century, scientists were generally interested in
identifying common aspects, rather than individual differences.
- Differences between individuals were considered as source of
error, which rendered human measurement inexact.
JOHAN FRIEDRICH HERBART - proposed the Mathematical
models of the mind; the founder of Pedagogy as an academic
discipline.
ERNST HEINRICH WEBER - proposed the concepts of sensory
thresholds and Just Noticeable Differences (JND).
GUSTAV THEODOR FECHNER - involved in the Mathematic
sensory thresholds of experience;
- founder of Psychophysics, and one of the founders of
Experimental Psychology.
- Weber-Fechner Law was the first to relate to situation and
stimulus. It states that the strength of a sensation grows as the
logarithm of the stimulus intensifies.
- considered by some as the founder of Psychometrics.
GUY MONTROSE WHIPPLE - was influenced by Fechner and was
a student of Titchener; pioneered the human ability testing.
- conducted seminar that changed the field of psychological
testing (Carnegie Institute in 1918).
- because of his criticisms, APA issued its first standards for
professional psychological testing.
- construction of Carnegie Interest Inventory – Strong
Vocational Interest Blank.
LOUIS LEON THURSTONE - a large contributor to factor
analysis and attended Whipple’s seminars; his approach to
measurement was called the Law of Comparative Judgment
which is a mathematical representation of a discriminal process,
which is any process in which a comparison is made between pairs
of a collection of entities with respect to magnitudes of an
attribute, trait, attitude, and so on.
  INTEREST IN MENTAL DEFICIENCY - SB scale became more psychometrically sound and the term IQ
was introduced
JEAN ETIENNE ESQUIROL - a French physician and was the
- IQ = Mental Age / Chronological Age X 100
favorite student of Phillippe Pinel– the founder of Psychiatry.
ROBERT YERKES - president of the APA who was commissioned
- was responsible for the manuscript on mental retardation which
by the US Army to develop structured tests of human abilities.
differentiated between insanity and mental retardation.
- WW1 arose the need for large-scale group administered ability
EDOUARD SEGUIN - a French physician who pioneered in training
tests by the army.
mentally retarded persons; rejected the notion of incurable mental
- Army Alpha – verbal; administered to literate soldiers.
retardation (MR).
- Army Beta – nonverbal; administered to illiterate soldiers.
- 1837, he opened the first school devoted to teaching children
DAVID WECHSLER - subscales on his tests were adopted from the
with MR.
army scales; produces several scores of intellectual ability rather than
- 1866, he conducted experiments with physiological training of
Binet’s single scores; evolved to the Wechsler Series of intelligence
MR which involved sense/muscle training used until today and
tests (WAIS, WISC, etc.)
leads to nonverbal tests of intelligence (Seguin Form Board
Test). PERSONALITY TESTING- these tests were intended to measure
personality traits.
EMIL KRAPELIN - devised a series of examinations for evaluating
emotionally impaired individuals. TRAITS - are relatively enduring dispositions (tendencies to act,
think, or feel in a certain manner in any given circumstance).
 INTELLIGENCE TESTING
- 1920s - The rise of personality testing
ALFRED BINET - appointed by the French government to develop a
- 1930s - The fall of personality testing
test that will place Paris school children to special classes who failed
- 1940s - The slow rise of personality testing
to respond to normal schooling;

- devised the first intelligence test: the Binet-Simon scale of

1905. The scale has standardized administration and used a
standardization sample.

LEWIS MADISON TERMAN - translated the Binet-Simon Scales in

English to be used in the US and in 1916, it was published as the
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
PERSONALITY TESTING: First Structured Test
WOODWORTH PERSONAL DATA SHEET - the first objective
personality test meant to assist in psychiatric interviews; was
developed during the WW1.
- designed to screen out soldiers unfit for duty.
- mistakenly assume that subject’s response could be taken at
face value.
PERSONALITY TESTING: Slow Rise – Projective Techniques
HERMAN RORSCHACH (Rorschach Inkblot Test) - pioneered
the projective assessment using his inkblot test; started with great
suspicion; first serious study made in 1932.
- symmetric colored and black & white inkblots and was
introduced to the US by David Levy.t in 1921.
THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (TAT)- was developed in
1935 and composed of ambiguous pictures that were considerably
more structured than the Rorschach.
- Subjects are shown pictures and asked to tell a story including:
 What has led up to the event shown;
 What is happening at the moment;
 What the characters are feeling and thinking; and o What the
outcome of the story was.
PERSONALITY TESTING: Second Structured Test
MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY
(MMPI 1943) - tests like Woodworth made too many assumptions;
the meaning of the test response could only be determined by
empirical research.
- MMPI-2 and MMPI-A are most widely used.
RAYMOND B. CATTELL (16 PF) - the test was based on factor
analysis – a method for finding the minimum number of dimensions or
factors for explaining the largest number of variables.
- J. R. Guilford, the first to apply factor analytic approach to
test construction.
THE RISE OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
1900s - Everything necessary for the rise of the first truly modern and
successful psychological test was in place.
1904 - Alfred Binet was appointed to devise a method of evaluating
children who could not profit from regular classes and would require
special education.
1905 - Binet and Theodore Simon published the first useful
instrument to measure general cognitive abilities or global intelligence.
1908 - Binet revised, expanded, and refined his first scale.
1911 - The birth of the IQ; William Stern (1911) proposed the
computation for IQ based on Binet-Simon scale (IQ = Mental Age /
Chronological Age X 100).
1916 - Lewis Terman translated the Binet-Simon scales to English and
published it as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
1917 World War I - Robert Yerkes, APA President developed a
group test of intelligence for US Army; pioneered the first group
testing - Army Alpha and Army Beta.
1918 - Arthur Otis devised a multiple choice items that could be
scored objectively and rapidly; published Group Intelligence Scale that
had served as model for Army Alpha.
1919 - E.L Thorndike produced an intelligence test for high school
graduates
USES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
1. Measure differences between individuals or between reactions
of the same individual under different circumstances
2. Detection of intellectual difficulties, severe emotional
problems, and behavioral disorders
3. Classification of students according to type of instruction,
slow and fast learners, educational and occupational
counseling, selection of applicants for professional schools
4. Individual counseling – educational and vocational plans,
emotional well-being, effective interpersonal relations, enhance
understanding and personal development, aid in decision-
making
5. Basic research – nature and extent of individual differences,
psychological traits, group differences, identification of
biological and cultural factors
6. Investigating problems such as developmental changes in the
lifespan, effectiveness of educational interventions,
psychotherapy outcomes, community program impact
assessment, influence of environment on performance
7. Measures broad aptitudes to specific skills
Features of a psychological test:
 Sample of behavior
Objective and standardized measure of behavior
Diagnostic or predictive value depends on how much it is an
indicator of relatively broad and significant areas of behavior
Tests alone are not enough – it has to be empirically
demonstrated that test performance is related to the skill set for
which he or she is tested
Tests need not resemble closely the behavior trying to be
predicted
Prediction – assumes that the performance of the individual in
the test generalizes to other situations
Capacity – can tests measure “potential”?
- Only in the sense that present behavior can be used as an
indicator of future behavior.
No psychological test can do more than measure behavior
 Standardization
Uniformity of procedure when administering and scoring a test
Testing conditions must be the same for all
Establishing norms (normal or average performance of others
who took the same test under the same conditions)
Raw scores are meaningless unless evaluated against suitable
interpretative data
Standardization sample – indicates average performance and
frequency of deviating by varying degrees from the average
- Indicates position with reference to all others who took the test
- In personality tests, indicates scores typically obtained by
average persons
 Objective measurement of difficulty
Objective – scores remain the same regardless of examiner
characteristics
Difficulty – items passed by the most number of people are the
easiest
MEASUREMENT - the act of assigning number or symbols to Scale of Equal Absolute
characteristics of things (people, events, etc.) according to rules. Magnitude
measurement Interval Zero

SCALE - set of numbers (or other symbols) whose properties model
empirical properties of the objects to which the numbers are assigned.
CATEGORIES OF SCALES
 DISCRETE- Values that are distinct and separate; they can be
counted.
 CONTINUOUS - exists when it is theoretically possible to
divide any of the values of the scale; the values may take of
any value within a finite or infinite interval.
ERROR - refers to the collective influence of all the factors on a test
score or measurement beyond those specifically measured by the test
or measurement; it is very much an element of all measurement, and it
is an element for which any theory of measurement must surely
account.
Scales of Measurement
Properties of Scales:
1. Magnitude – “moreness”; suggests that one is more than the
others
2. Equal interval – the difference between two points at any
place has the same meaning as the difference between two
other points on other places.
3. Absolute zero – zero suggests absence of the variable being
measured
Nominal No No No
Ordinal Yes No No
Interval Yes Yes No
Ratio Yes Yes Yes
 Nominal - known as the simplest form of measurement.
- Involve classification or categorization based on one or more
distinguishing characteristics, where all things measured must
be placed into mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories.
• Example: DSM5, Gender of the patients, colors
 Ordinal - permits classification and in addition, rank ordering
on some characteristics is also permissible.
- It implies nothing about how much greater one ranking is than
another; and the numbers do not indicate units of measurement.
• Examples: fastest reader, size of waistline, job positions
 Interval - Permit both categorization and rank, in addition, it
contain intervals between numbers, thus, each unit on the scale
is exactly equal to any other unit on the scale.
- No absolute zero point however, it is possible to average a set
of measurements and obtain a meaningful result.
- For example, IQs of 80 and 100 is thought to be similar to that
existing between IQs of 100 and 120. If an individual achieved
an IQ of 0, it would not be an indication of zero intelligence or
total absence of it.
- Examples: temperature, time, IQ scales, psychological scales
 Ratio - Contains all the properties of nominal, ordinal, and
interval scales, and it has a true zero point; negative values are
not possible.
- A score of zero means the complete absence of the attribute
being measured.
- Examples: exam score, neurological exam (i.e. hand grip),
heart rate
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS - used to say something about a set of
information that has been collected only.
- DISTRIBUTION - set of test scores arrayed for recording or
study.
- RAW SCORE - Is a straightforward, unmodified accounting
of performance that is usually numerical; may reflect a simple
tally, such as the number of items responded to correctly on an
achievement test.
- FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION - all scores are listed
alongside the number of times each score occurred; scores
might be listed in a tabular or graphical form.
- MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY - indicates the
average of midmost scores between the extreme scores in a
distribution.
 MEAN - the most common measure of central tendency. It
takes into account the numerical value of every score; “average
of scores”
 MEDIAN - the middle most score in the distribution;
determined by arranging the scores in either ascending or
descending order.
 MODE - the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
of scores
MEASURES OF VARIABILITY
Variability - indication of how scores in a distribution are scattered or
dispersed.
- RANGE - the simplest measure of variability. • It is the
difference between the highest and the lowest score.
 INTERQUARTILE RANGE - a measure of variability equal
to the difference between Q3 and Q1.
 SEMI-INTERQUARTILE RANGE - equal to the
interquartile range divided by two
- AVERAGE DEVIATION- another tool that could be used to
describe the amount of variability in a distribution; rarely used
perhaps due to the deletion of algebraic signs renders it is a
useless measure for purpose of any further operations.
- STANDARD DEVIATION (SD) - a measure of variability
that is equal to the square root of the average squared
deviations about the mean. • The square root of the variance. •
A low SD indicates that the values are close to the mean, while
a high SD indicates that the values ae dispersed over a wider
range.
- SKEWNESS - refers to the absence of symmetry; an
indication of how a measurement in a distribution is
distributed.
 POSITIVELY SKEWED - a type of distribution in which
most values are clustered around the left tail of the distribution
while the right tail of the distribution is longer; means the
outliers of the distribution curve are further out towards the
right and closer to the mean on the left.
 NEGATIVELY SKEWED - a type of distribution in which
more values are concentrated on the right side (tail) of the
distribution graph while the left tail of the distribution graph is
longer; means the outliers of the distribution curve are further
out towards the left and closer to the mean on the right.
 - KURTOSIS - The steepness of the distribution in its center;
describes how heavy or light the tails are.
 PLATYKURTIC - relatively flat, gently curved
 MESOKURTIC - moderately curved, somewhere in the
middle
 LEPTOKURTIC - relatively peaked
NORMAL CURVE- bell-shaped, smooth, mathematically defined
curve that is highest at its center.
- It is perfectly symmetrical with no skewness.
- Majority of the test takers are bulked at the middle of the
distribution; very few test takers are at the extremes.
- Mean = Median = Mode
- Q1 and Q3 have equal distances to the Q2 (median).
 50% of the scores occur above the mean and 50% of the scores
occur below the mean.
 Approximately 34% of all scores occur between the mean and
1 SD above the mean.
 Approximately 34% of all scores occur between the mean and
1 SD below the mean.
 Approximately 68% of all scores occur between the mean and
+/- 1 SD.
 Approximately 95% of all scores occur between the mean and
+/- 2 SD.
STAN DARD SCORES - raw scores that have been converted
from one scale to another scale, where the latter scale has some
arbitrarily set mean and standard deviation; provides a context of
comparing scores on two different tests by converting scores from
the two tests into z-score.
TYPES OF STANDARD SCORES

 z scores - known as the golden scores.

- results from the conversion of a raw score into a number
indicating how many SD units the raw score is below or above
the mean of the distribution.
- mean = 0; SD = 1
- zero plus or minus one scale (0 +/- 1)
- scores can be positive or negative.
 t scores - fifty plus or minus ten scale (50 +/- 10)
- mean = 50; SD = 10
- devised by W.A McCall (1922, 1939) and named a T score in
honor of his professor E.L. Thorndike CORRELATIONAL STATISTICS - statistical tools for testing the
- composed of a scale that ranges from 5 SD below the mean to 5 relationships or associations between variables.
SD above the mean
- A statistical tool of choice when the relationship between
- none of the scores are negative
variables is linear and when the variables being correlated are
 Stanine - takes the whole numbers from 1 to 9 without
continuous.
decimals, which represent a range of performance that is half of
SD in width. COVARIANCE - how much two scores vary together.
- Mean = 5; SD = 2
CORRELATION COEFFICIENT - a mathematical index that
- used by US Airforce Assessment
describes the direction and magnitude of a relationship; always ranges
 Deviation IQ - used for interpreting IQ scores
from -1.00 to +1.00 only.
- mean = 100; SD = 15
 STEN - standard ten PEARSON PRODUCT MOMENT CORRELATION - determines
- mean = 5.5; SD = 2 the degree of variation in one variable that can be estimated from
 Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Scholastic Aptitude Test knowledge about variation in other variable.
(SAT) - used from admission to graduate school and college.
- correlated two variables in interval or ratio scale format.
- mean = 500; SD = 100
- devised by Karl Pearson
 TETRACHORIC CORRELATION - correlated two dichotomous
data; both should be artificial dichotomy; example, passing or failing a
TYPES OF CORRELATIONS test and being highly anxious or not.
 SPEARMAN RHO CORRELATION - a method of KENDALL COEFFICIENT OF CONCORDANCE - a measure
correlation for finding the association between two sets of that uses ranks to assess agreement between 3 or more raters.
ranks thus, two variables must be in ordinal scale.
- frequently used when the sample size is small (fewer than 30 CORRELATIONAL-LINK, ASSOCIATION, RELATIONSHIP
pairs of measurements).
Variable 1 Variable 2
- also called rank-order correlation coefficient or rank-
Pearson Product
difference correlation. Continuous Continuous
Moment Correlation
- devised by Charles Spearman Spearman Rho/Rank
Rank Rank
 BISERIAL CORRELATION - expresses the relationship Correlation
between a continuous variable and an artificial dichotomous Point Biserial
True Dichotomy Continuous
variable. Correlation
Biserial
 For example, the relationship between passing or failing the bar Artificial Dichotomy Continuous
Correlation
exam (artificial dichotomous variable) and general weighted True/Artificial
average (GPA) in law school (continuous variable) Phi-coefficient True Dichotomy
Dichotomy
 POINT BISERIAL CORRELATION - correlates one Tetrachoric
Artificial Dichotomy Artificial Dichotomy
continuous and one true dichotomous data. Correlation
 For example, score in the test (continuous or interval) and Kendall Coefficient
Agreement among 3 or more raters
of Concordance
correctness in an item within the test (true dichotomous).
ISSUES IN THE USE OF CORRELATION
TRUE DICHOTOMY - there are only two possible categories that
RESIDUAL - difference between the predicted and the observed
are formed naturally; example: Gender (M/F)
values.
ARTIFICIAL DICHOTOMY - Reflect an underlying continuous
STANDARD ERROR OF ESTIMATE - standard deviation of the
scale forced into a dichotomy; there are other possibilities in a certain
residual; measure of accuracy and prediction.
category; example: Exam score (Pass or Fail)
SHRINKAGE- the amount of decrease observed when a regression
PHI-COEFFICIENT - correlates two dichotomous data; at least one
equation is created for one population and then applied to another.
should be true dichotomy; example, gender population who passed or
fail the 2018 Physician Licensure Exam. COEFFICIENT OF DETERMINATION (R2) - tells the proportion
of the total variation in scores on Y that we know as a function of
information about X. It also suggests the percentage shared by two MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS - a type of multivariate
variables; the effect of one variable to the other. (three or more variables) analysis which finds the linear combination
of the three variables that provides the best prediction.
COEFFICIENT OF ALIENATION - measures the non- association
between two variables.  Statistical technique in predicting one variable from a series of
predictors.
RESTRICTED RANGE - significant relationships are difficult to
 Intercorrelations among all the variables involved.
find if the variability is restricted.
 Applicable only for all data that are continuous.
Essential Facts about Correlation
STANDARDIZED REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS - also known
 The degree of relationship between two variables is indicated as beta weights; tells how much a variable from a given list of
by the number in the coefficient, whereas the direction of the variables predict a single variable.
relationship is indicated by the sign.
FACTOR ANALYSIS - used to study the interrelationships among a
 Correlation, even if high, does not imply causation.
set of variables without reference to a criterion.
 High correlations allow us to make predictions
- Factors –the variables; also called principal components.
REGRESION - the analysis or relationships among variables for the
- Factor Loading –the correlation between original items and
purpose of understanding how one variable may predict the other
the factors.
through the use of linear regression.
META-ANALYSIS - family of techniques used to statistically
 Predictor (X) – serves as the IV; causes changes to the other
combine information across studies to produce single estimates of the
variable.
data under study.
 Predicted (Y) – serves as the DV; result of the change as the
value of predictor changes. ADVANTAGES:
 INTERCEPT (a) - the point at which the regression line
 Can be replicated
crosses the Y axis
 Conclusions tend to be more reliable and precise than
 REGRESSION COEFFICIENT (b) - the slope of the
conclusions from single studies
regression line
 More focus on effect size than statistical significance alone
 Represented by the formula: Y = a + bX
 Promotes evidenced-based practice –a professional practice
 REGRESSION LINE- best fitting straight line through a set
that is based on clinical research findings.
of points in a scatter plot
 STANDARD ERROR OF ESTIMATE - measures the Effect Size – the estimate of strength of relationship or size of
accuracy of prediction differences; typically expressed as a correlation coefficient.

PARAMETRIC VS NON PARAMETRIC TESTS

PARAMETRIC - assumptions are made for the population TRAITS - any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one
individual varies from one another
 homogenous data; normally distributed samples
 has mean and SD  Stable characteristics a person has
 randomly selected samples  Can be seen in most situations in a person’s life (long-lasting)
 A collection of psychological traits form a psychological
NON-PARAMETRIC - assumptions are made for the samples only type
 heterogeneous data; skewed distribution.  Traits exist as psychological constructs – an informed,
scientific concept developed or constructed to describe or
 ordinals and categories
explain behavior. We infer the existence of these constructs
 highly purposive sampling
through overt behavior.
Number of Scale of  Traits are relatively enduring – not expected to be
Number of
times DV is measurement of manifested in behavior 100% of the time.
groups
measured DV  In psychological measurement, refer to a way in which one
t-test independent individual varies from another. Context is also very
1 2 Interval/Ratio
means important when selecting appropriate trait terms for observed
t-test dependent
2 1 Interval/Ratio behavior.
means
ANOVA STATES – a relatively less enduring, temporary change in one’s
1 >2 Interval/Ratio
1 way
personality
ANOVA Repeated
>2 1 Interval/Ratio
Measures  A state is affected more by the power of a situation.
Mann-Whitney U
1 2 Ordinal  Brief and can be controlled by manipulating the situation
Test
Wilcoxon Signed
2 1 Ordinal
Rank Test
ASSUMPTION 2 - Psychological Traits and States Can Be Quantified
Kruskal-Wallis H
1 >2 Ordinal and Measured
Test
Friedman Test >2 1 Ordinal
 Traits and states shall be clearly defined to be measured
accurately.
ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND  Test developers and researchers, like other people in
MEASUREMENT general, have many different ways of looking at and
defining the same phenomenon (operational definition)
ASSUMPTION 1 - Psychological Traits and States Exist
  The possible items that can be written to gauge the
strengths of that trait in test taker’s should also be
considered (developing appropriate test items)
 Test scores are presumed to represent the strength of
the targeted ability, trait or state.
Cumulative scoring - assumption that higher the test taker’ score is,
there is the presumption to be on the targeted ability or trait
ASSUMPTION 3 - Test-Related Behavior Predicts Non-Test- Related
Behavior
 Provides some indication of the examinee’s behavior
outside the testing procedure.
 Obtained sample of behavior is typically used to make
predictions about future behavior.
 In some cases, testing and assessment methods are used to
postdict – it aids in understanding behavior that has already
taken place.
ASSUMPTION 4 - Tests and Other Measurement Techniques Have
Strengths and Weakness
 Competent test users must understand how a test was
developed, the circumstances under which it is appropriate
to administer the test, how to administer the test and to
whom, how the test results should be interpreted, and how
those limitations might be compensated for by data from
other sources.
ASSUMPTION 5 - Various Sources of Error Are Part of the
Assessment Process
 The typical use of the word “errors” refer to mistakes,
miscalculations, and the like on a test.
 To the contrary, error traditionally refers to something that
is more than expected; it is actually a component of the
measurement process
ERROR VARIANCE - the component of a test score attributable to
sources than the trait or ability measured
 Assessors and the people assessed can be sources of error.
ASSUMPTION 6 - Testing and Assessment Can Be Conducted in a
Fair and Unbiased Manner
 Several controversies for fair uses of tests have arisen in the
history of the profession.
 One source of fairness-related problems is the test user
who attempts to use a particular test on people whose
background differ from other people the test was made
and intended for.
 Other testing controversies in relation to employment, who
gets admission in a school, and other opportunities have
also risen.
 However, all of these are still considered tools – one which
we can use properly or not.
ASSUMPTION 7 - Testing and Assessment Benefit Society
Without test, there will be….
 Subjective personnel hiring process
 Children with special needs might be assigned to certain
classes by gut feel of the teachers and school administrators
 Great needs to diagnose educational difficulties
 No instruments to diagnose neuropsychological impairments
 No practical way for military to screen thousands of recruits
 Typical vs Maximum Performance - Scaling – process of setting rules for assigning numbers in
measurement.
Maximum/Maximal
Typical Performance Test  Designing a measuring device for the trait/ability being
Performance Test
- How well the person - How well the person measured
typically does can do  Manifested through its item format
- No right or wrong - Have a correct answer  Dichotomous - offers two alternatives for each item.
answers - Achievement and Usually a point is given for the selection of one of the
- Personality aptitude, speed test, alternatives. The most common example of this format
inventories, attitude and power test is the true-false examination.
scales, and opinion
 Polytomous - (sometimes called polychotomous)
questionnaires
Test development- is an umbrella term for all that goes into resembles the dichotomous format except that each item
the process of creating a test. has more than two alternatives. Examples are multiple
The process of developing a test occurs in five stages: choice format or distractors- incorrect choices.
1. Test conceptualization – stage wherein the following
are determined: construct, goal, user, taker,
administration, format, response, benefits, cost, and
interpretation.
- determination whether the test would be norm-
referenced or criterion referenced.
 Norm-referenced tests compare individual performance with
the performance of a group.
 Criterion-referenced assessments measure how well a
student has mastered a specific learning goal (or objective)
 Pilot work, pilot study, and pilot research refer, in general,
to the preliminary research surrounding the creation of a
prototype of the test. Test items may be pilot studied (or  Likert - because it was used as part of Likert’s (1932)
piloted) to evaluate whether they should be included in the method of attitude scale construction. A scale using the
final form of the instrument Likert format consists of items such as “I am afraid of
heights”. Instead of asking for a yes-no reply, five
2. Test construction – writing the test items as well as alternatives are offered: strongly disagree, disagree,
formatting items, scoring rules, and otherwise designing neutral, agree, and strongly agree. In some applications,
and building the test. six options are used to avoid allowing the respondent to
be neutral. The six responses might be strongly
 disagree, moderately disagree, mildly disagree, mildly
agree, moderately agree, and strongly agree.
 Category - a technique that is similar to the Likert
format but that uses an even greater number of choices.
On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 as the lowest and 10 as
the highest. Visual analogue scale- . Popular for
measuring self- rated health. Using this method, the
respondent is given a 100-millimeter line and asked to
place a mark between two well-defined endpoints.
 Item pool – usually 2 times the intended final form number of
items. (3 items is advised for inexperienced test developer.)
- Reservoir from which items will or will not be drawn for the
final version of the test.
- Final test items should contain all domains of the test.
 Determination of scoring model
 Cumulative - assumes that the more the test taker
responds in a particular fashion, the more the test taker
exhibits the attribute being measured—is probably the
most common method for determining an individual's
final test score.
 Categorical - test taker responses earn credit toward
placement in a particular class or category with other
test takers whose pattern of responses is presumably
similar in some way. This approach is used by some
diagnostic systems wherein individuals must exhibit a
certain number of symptoms to qualify for a specific
diagnosis.
 Ipsative - comparing a test taker’s score on one
construct within a test to another construct within that
same test.
 Creation of the “final form” of the test
3. Test tryout – administration of a test to a representative
sample if test takers under conditions that stimulate the
conditions under which the “final version” of the test
will be administered.
- Issues may include: determination of target population and
number of samples for test tryout (# of items x 10), and test
tryout should be executed under conditions as identical as
possible to the conditions under which the standardized test
will be administered.
4. Item analysis – entails procedures usually statistically
designed to explore how individual test items works as
compared to other items in the test and in the context of
the whole test.
- Determination of the following:
 Reliability - Consistency of scores obtained when retested with
the same test or with an equivalent form of test
 Validity - Degree to which the test measures what it’s
supposed to measure
- Requires independent, external criteria against which the test is
evaluated
- Validity coefficient – determines how closely the criterion
performance can be predicted from the test score
 Low VC – low correspondence between test
performance and criterion
 High VC – high correspondence between test
performance and criterion
- Broader tests must be validated against accumulated data based
on different investigations
- Validity is first established on a representative sample of test
takers before it is ready for use
 Tells us what the test is measuring
 Tells us the extent to which we know what the test
measures
 Item Difficulty - calculating the proportion of the total number
of test takers who answered the item correctly.
  Item Discrimination - measure of the difference between the
proportion of high scorers answering an item correctly and the
proportion of low scorers answering the item correctly. The
higher the value of d, the greater the number of high
scorers answering the item correctly.
 Differential item functioning (DIF) - a phenomenon, wherein
an item functions differently in one group of test takers as
compared to another group of test takers known to have the
same (or similar) level of the underlying trait
5. Test revision – balancing the weakness and strengths
of the test or an item.
- After all necessary items has been revised based on the analysis
of reliability, validity, item difficulty, and item discrimination,
the test will be ‘tried out’ again to recalibrate the psychometric
properties.
WHAT IS A GOOD TEST?
 Psychometric Soundness – also referred as “psychometric
adequacy”; refers to whether the tests demonstrate sufficient
levels of reliability and validity for ethical use with clients.
 Reliability - consistency in measurement
- the precision with which the test measures and the extent to
which error is present in measurement; “free from errors”
- perfectly reliable measuring tool consistently measures in the
same way
 Validity - when a test measures what it purports to
measure
- An intelligence test is valid test because it measures
intelligence; the same way with personality tests; and with
other psychological tests
- Questions on test’s validity may focus on the items that
collectively make up the test.
- A test may be reliable but not valid but it cannot be valid
without being reliable.
 Norms - test performance data of a particular group of
test takers that are designed for use as a reference when
evaluating or interpreting individual test scores
- Obtained by administering the test to a sample of people and
obtaining the distribution of scores for that group
 Normative Sample- Group of people whose
performance on a particular test in analyzed for
reference in evaluating the performance of an individual
test taker
 Norming- The process of deriving norms
- May be modified to describe a particular type of norm
derivation
 Standardization- the process of administering a test to a
representative sample of test takers for the purpose of
establishing norms
- A test is said to be standardized when it has clearly specified
procedures for administration and scoring. Typically including
normative data
TYPES OF STANDARD ERROR
STANDARD ERROR OF MEASUREMENT (SEM)- a statistic to
estimate the extent to which an observed score deviates from a true
score
STANDARD ERROR OF ESTIMATE (SEE) - in regression, it is
an estimate of the degree of error involved in predicting the value of
one variable from another
STANDARD ERROR OF THE MEAN (SEM) - a measure of
sampling error
STANDARD ERROR OF THE DIFFERENCE (SED) - a statistic
used to estimate how large difference between two scores should be
before the difference is considered statistically significant

SAMPLING TO DEVELOP NORMS

SAMPLE - the representative of the whole population; could be a

small as one person, though samples that approach the size of the
population reduce the possible sources of error due to insufficient
sample size

SAMPLING - the process of selecting the portion of the universe

deemed to be representative of the whole population