PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

3 RD YEAR - MIDTERMS
Hyfa Grace Mapambocol

History: ANTIQUITY OF 19TH CENTURY MIDDLE AGES – IN LEAGUE WITH

⎯ China: tests and testing programs THE DEVIL?
originated place during 2200 B.C.E ⎯ “Who is in league with the Devil?”
⎯ passing the exam, required knowledge ⎯ Various measurement procedures were
tutor & long hours of study devised to address this question
⎯ Land-owning gentry could afford RENAISSANCE
⎯ Measurement in the modern sense began to
CONTENT OF THE EXAMINATION emerge
⎯ Changed over time and with the cultural ⎯ 18th Century- Christian von Wolff anticipated
expectations of the day, values of the psychology as a science and psychological
ruling dynasty measurement as a specialty within that
⎯ Proficiency in endeavors such as music, science.
archery, horsemanship, writing, and
arithmetic were examined ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
⎯ Subjects such as agriculture, geography, ⎯ 1859- On the Origin of Species by Means
revenue, civil law, and military strategy of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
⎯ Knowledge and skill with respect to the ⎯ Chance variation in species would be selected
rites and ceremonies of public and social or rejected by nature according to adaptivity
life and survival value.
⎯ Song (Sung) Dynasty - Emphasis on ⎯ Humans had descended from the ape as a
knowledge of Classical literature result of such chance genetic variations.
⎯ Some Dynasties - Testing was virtually ⎯ This revolutionary notion aroused
suspended; Government positions were interest, admiration, and a good deal of
given to family members or friends, or enmity.
simply sold. FRANCIS GALTON
PRIVILEGES IN PASSING THE EXAM ⎯ research on heredity in his half cousin,
Imperial examinations- forced Francis Galton.
Privileges: 5 ⎯ In the course of his efforts to explore
1. Government job and quantify individual differences
2. Entitled to wear special garb; between people, Galton became an
3. This entitled them to be accorded special extremely influential
courtesies by anyone they happened to ⎯ contributor to the field of measurement ▪
meet Aspired to classify people “according to
4. Exemption from taxes their natural gifts” and to ascertain their
5. Exempt from government sponsored “deviation from an average”
interrogation by torture if the individual ⎯ credited with devising or contributing to the
was suspected of committing a crime development of many contemporary tools of
⎯ psychological assessment Including
GRECO-ROMAN WRITINGS questionnaires, rating scales, and self-report
⎯ Attempts to categorize people in terms of
personality types. Coefficient of Correlation
⎯ Categorization- overabundance or ⎯ Sweet Peas Study of Francis Galton
deficiency in some bodily fluid - factor to ⎯ Karl Pearson developed the product-
influence personality moment correlation technique
Choleric Sanguine o roots can be traced directly to the work
Yellow Bile Blood of Galton
Determined, quick to Warm-hearted, ⎯ Heredity in Humans = various ways of
act, fiery, energetic, outgoing, volatile, measuring aspects of people and their
passionate optimistic, cheerful abilities.
Phlegmatic Melancholic
Phlegm Black bile ANTHROPOMETRIC LABORATORY
Slow, patient, calm, Serious, anxious, quiet, OF GALTON
quiet, shy, rational, fearful, depressed, ⎯ Exhibition in London in 1884
consistent poetic, artistic, sad ⎯ Galton displayed his Anthropometric
Laboratory

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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
⎯ Measured on variables such as height
(standing), height (sitting), arm span, weight,
breathing capacity, strength of pull, strength of
squeeze, swiftness of blow, keenness of sight,
memory of form, discrimination of color,
and steadiness of hand.
⎯ Galton excited widespread interest in the
measurement of psychology-related variables
WILHELM MAX WUNDT (1832-1920)
⎯ First experimental psychology laboratory -
University of Leipzig, Germany
⎯ Medical doctor, professor of philosophy
⎯ Wundt and his students tried to formulate a
general description of human abilities with
respect to variables such as reaction time,
perception, and attention span
⎯ focused on questions relating to how people
were similar
⎯ Individual differences were viewed by
Wundt as a frustrating source of error
in experimentation
⎯ Differences between the people being
measured and not to any extraneous
variables
⎯ Manuals for the administration of many tests
provide explicit instructions designed to hold
constant or “standardize” the conditions under
which the test is administered.
JAMES MCKEEN CATTELL
⎯ Completed a doctoral dissertation that dealt
with individual differences in reaction time.
⎯ Cambridge – Galton- greatest man I have
known.
⎯ coined mental test in 1890 publication.
⎯ Mental testing in America ,
Reinforced/influenced by Galton
⎯ Professor and chair of the psychology
department at Columbia University
⎯ 1921- founded the Psychological Corporation
⎯ Goal: “Advancement of psychology and the
promotion of the useful applications of
psychology.”
CHARLES SPEARMAN
⎯ Test reliability
⎯ Mathematical framework for the statistical
technique of factor analysis
VICTOR HENRI
⎯ Frenchmen who collaborated with Alfred
Binet
⎯ Mental tests could be used to measure higher
mental processes
EMIL KRAEPELIN
⎯ Word Association technique as formal test
LIGHTNER WITMER
⎯ Succeed Cattell as director at the University of
Pennsylvania.
⎯ Founder of “Little-known founder of Clinical
Psychology”.
⎯ Treat a chronic bad speller in March of 1896.
⎯ founded the first psychological clinic in the
United States at the University of
Pennsylvania.
⎯ 1907- Witmer founded the journal
Psychological Clinic. The first article in that
journal was entitled “Clinical Psychology”.
THE 20TH CENTURY
⎯ 19th century - Measurement of sensory
abilities & reaction time, etc.
⎯ Early 1900s- birth of the first formal tests of
intelligence
⎯ Public receptivity to psychological tests- shift
from mild curiosity to outright enthusiasm.
⎯ more instruments that purportedly quantified
mental ability were introduced.
⎯ Tests to measure sundry mental
characteristics such as personality,
interests, attitudes, values, and widely
varied mental abilities. It all began with a
single test designed for use with young Paris
pupils.
THE MEASUREMENT OF
INTELLIGENCE
⎯ 1895- Alfred Binet & Victor Henri
⎯ Measurement of Memory and
Social Comprehension
THEODORE SIMON
⎯ 30-item measuring scale of intelligence
⎯ Identify Paris schoolchildren with intellectual
disability.
⎯ Intelligence testing movement and the clinical
testing movement
⎯ Psychological tests were being used with
regularity in such diverse settings as schools,
hospitals, clinics, courts, reformatories,
and prisons
DAVID WECHSLER
⎯ 1939 - Clinical Psychologist at Bellevue
Hospital in New York City, test to measure
adult intelligence
⎯ Intelligence – “the aggregate or global
capacity of the individual to act purposefully,
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
to think rationally, and to deal effectively with
his environment”
⎯ Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale
⎯ Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
⎯ Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
(WISC)
GROUP INTELLIGENCE TEST
⎯ United States
⎯ In response to the military’s need for an
efficient method of screening the intellectual
ability of World War I recruits.
⎯ Psychological tests were increasingly used in
diverse settings, including large corporations
and private organizations.
THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY
⎯ 8 years after the publication of Binet’s scale,
the field of psychology was being criticized
for being too test oriented
⎯ Late 1930s- 4,000 different psychological
tests were in print
⎯ Clinical Psychology – synonymous
w/mental testing
⎯ World War I
o Screen intellectual functioning of
recruits
o Recruits’ general adjustment
COMMITTEE ON EMOTIONAL FITNESS
⎯ A government Committee on
Emotional Fitness chaired by psychologist
Robert S. Woodworth
⎯ Task of developing a measure of adjustment
and emotional stability
⎯ Could be administered quickly and efficiently
to groups of recruits
PERSONAL DATA SHEET
⎯ Paper-and-pencil psychiatric interviews
⎯ Personal Data Sheet- disguise the
questionnaire
⎯ Yes or no to a series of questions-
psychopathology
WOODWORTH PSYCHONEUROTIC
INVENTORY
⎯ First widely used self-report test of
personality.
⎯ Advantages: Respondents are arguably the
best-qualified people to provide answers
about themselves
⎯ Disadvantages: Respondents may have poor
insight into themselves. Some respondents
are unwilling to reveal anything
about themselves
PROJECTIVE TEST
⎯ Individual is assumed to “project” onto
some ambiguous stimulus his or her own
unique needs, fears, hopes, and motivation
⎯ An inkblot, a drawing, a photograph, or
something
RORSCHACH INKBLOT TEST
⎯ Swiss Psychiatrist - Hermann Rorschach
PICTURES AS PROJECTIVE STIMULI
⎯ Henry A. Murray & Christiana D. Morgan
⎯ Harvard Psychological Clinic
⎯ Pictures/Photos- projective stimuli
o Tell a story about the picture they are
shown.
THE ACADEMIC AND APPLIED TRADITIONS
Psychological measurement can be traced along
two distinct threads:
1. Academic Traditions- Galton & Wundt -
practiced in university psychology laboratories
2. Applied Tradition- Binet and Ancient times to
China, Civil Service Examinations
CULTURE AND ASSESSMENT
⎯ Culture - “The socially transmitted behavior
patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a
particular population, community, or group of
people”
⎯ Sensitivity to culture in
assessment/different aspects of
measurement.
Evolving Interest In Culture-related Issues
ALFRED BINET- introduced intelligence testing
in France
US Public Health Service- use such tests to
measure the intelligence of people seeking to
immigrate to US
HENRY H. GODDARD
⎯ instrumental in getting Binet’s test adopted
for use in the US
⎯ Translated the Binet-Simon Scale
⎯ Chief researcher assigned to the project
⎯ Various cultural & language backgrounds
⎯ Used interpreters in test administration and
employed bilingual psychologist and
administered mental tests to selected
immigrants who appeared mentally retarded
⎯ Goddard found most immigrants from various
nationalities to be mentally deficient when
tested
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
“MENTAL TESTS AND THE IMMIGRANT”
⎯ 35 jews, 22 hungarians,
⎯ 50 italians, and 45 russians were selected for
testing among the masses of immigrants
⎯ Being processed for entry into the united
states at Ellis island
⎯ 83% of the Jews, 80% of the hungarians, 79%
of the italians, and 87% of the russians were
feebleminded.
⎯ Findings were due to “hereditary defect” or
“apparent defect due to deprivation”
⎯ findings were largely the result of using a
translated Binet test that overestimated
mental deficiency in native English
speaking populations, let alone immigrant
populations
Impact of language and culture on tests of
mental ability -> Isolate the culture variable
Culture-specific test - tests designed for use
with people from one culture but not
from another
STANFORD-BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALE
⎯ 1937 revision of the Stanford-
Binet Intelligence Scale
⎯ Enjoyed widespread use until it was revised in
1960
⎯ Included no minority children in the research
that went into its formulation
WECHSLER-BELLEVUE
INTELLIGENCE SCALE
⎯ forerunner of a widely used measure of adult
intelligence, contained no minority members
in the samples of test takers used in its
development.
Wechsler-Bellevue norms - could not be used
for “the colored populations of the United States”
WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE
FOR CHILDREN (WISC)
⎯ First published in 1949
⎯ Not revised until 1974
⎯ Contained no minority children in
its development.
ADMINISTERED IMPROPERLY
⎯ Testtakers from minority cultures tended to
score lower as a group than people from the
group for whom the test was developed.
SOME ISSUES REGARDING CULTURE AND
ASSESSMENT
⎯ Communication between assessor and
assessee - most basic part of assessment
⎯ Assessors must be sensitive to any
differences between the language or dialect
⎯ Assessors must also be sensitive to the
degree to which assessees have been
exposed to the dominant culture
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
⎯ Language is a key yet sometimes overlooked
variable in the assessment process.
⎯ Examiner and the examinee must speak the
same language
⎯ Assessor’s conclusions regarding the
assessment to be reasonably accurate.
TRANSLATOR = different types of problems may
emerge
⎯ Depending upon the translator’s skill and
professionalism,
⎯ Subtle nuances of meaning may be lost in
translation
⎯ Unintentional hints to the correct or more
desirable response may be conveyed.
⎯ Translated items may be either easier or more
difficult than the original
⎯ Some vocabulary words may change meaning
or have dual meanings when translated.
DIFFERENCES IN DIALECT
⎯ miscommunication and consequential effects
on test results
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND
BEHAVIOR
⎯ Humans communicate not only through verbal
means but also through nonverbal means.
⎯ Facial expressions, finger and hand signs,
and shifts in one’s position in space may all
convey messages
⎯ Messages conveyed by such body language
may be different from culture to culture
Certain theories and systems in the mental
health field go beyond more traditional
interpretations of body language
⎯ In Psychoanalysis, symbolic significance is
assigned to many nonverbal acts.
STANDARDS OF EVALUATION
⎯ Judgments related to certain psychological
traits can also be culturally relative
◊ Societal Standards
◊ Specific patterns of behavior
◊ Psychopathological
◊ Test-and-Assessment related outcomes
◊ Good judgment- cultural relativity
TESTS AND GROUP MEMBERSHIP
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol

⎯ Vocational assessment
⎯ Test users- sensitive to legal and
ethical mandates concerning the use of tests
with regard to hiring, firing and related
decision making.
⎯ Scores on a test of job ability should be
influenced only by job-related variables

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
⎯ Refers to voluntary and mandatory efforts
undertaken by federal, state, and local
governments, private employers, and schools
to combat discrimination and to
⎯ promote equal opportunity in education
and employment for all
⎯ Seeks to create equal opportunity actively
Affirmative action - Altering test
scoring procedures according to set
guidelines.
o Individual‘s score on a test could be
revised according to the individual’s
group membership.

PSYCHOLOGY, TESTS AND PUBLIC POLICY

⎯ Denial of educational advancement,
job opportunity, parole, or custody
⎯ Associate psychological tests

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND

ASSESSMENT

Testing- refer to everything from administration to

interpretation of a test score.
Assessment - acknowledges that tests are only
one type of tool used by professional assessors
⎯ Test’s value is intimately linked to knowledge,
skill and experience of assessor
⎯ Military, clinical, educational settings
behavioral observation + test scores + other PROCESS OF ASSESSMENT
data 1. Referral from a source
2. Referral question
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 3. Assesse and assessor meets
⎯ Gathering and integration of psychology- 4. Selection of tools of assessment
related data for the purpose of making a 5. Formal assessment
psychological evaluation 6. Report of findings
⎯ Through tests, interviews, case 7. Feedback sessions
studies, behavioral observation, specially
designed apparatuses and measurement DIFFERENT WAYS TO APPROACH THE
procedures ASSESSMENT TASK
1. Minimal input from the assesse
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING 2. Collaboration between assessor and assesse
⎯ Process of measuring psychology-related o Collaborative
variables by means of devices or procedures Psychological Assessment
designed to obtain a sample of behavior o Assessor and Assessee- work
as partners from initial
contact through final feedback

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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
3. Element of Therapy
o Therapeutic
Psychological Assessment
o Therapeutic Self-discovery and new
understanding are encouraged
4. Dynamic Assessment
o Educational settings
o Interactive approach to psych
assessment
1. Evaluation
2. Intervention - provide assistance with
mastering the task at hand
3. Evaluation
TOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT:7
1. The Test 4. Case History Data
2. The Interview 5. Role-Play Tests
3. The Portfolio 6. Computers
7. Other Tools
1. THE TEST
⎯ Test- measuring device or procedure
⎯ Psychological test refers to a device or
procedure designed to measure
variables related to psychology
⎯ Intelligence, personality, aptitude, interests,
attitudes, and values
⎯ Pencil-and-paper questionnaire to oral
responses to performance of tasks
TESTS DIFFER IN: 6
1. Content 4. Scoring
2. Format 5. Interpretation procedures
3. Administration procedures
6. Technical quality
1. CONTENT (SUBJECT MATTER)
⎯ focus of the test
⎯ Personality- differ in item content,
theoretical orientation
2. FORMAT
⎯ Form, plan, structure, arrangement, layout of
test items, time limits
⎯ Form in which test is administered: 3
Computerized, Pencil-and-paper, other form,
PC or Apple/Mac-compatible
3. ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES
⎯ One to one basis- require active and
knowledgeable test administrator
Demonstration of various kinds of tasks on
the part of the assessee
⎯ Trained observation of performance
4. SCORING AND INTERPRETATION
PROCEDURES
⎯ Score- code or summary statement, reflects
evaluation of performance on a test, task,
interview of some sample of behavior.
⎯ Scoring- process of assigning evaluative
codes or statements to performance on tests,
tasks, interview or other behavior samples
Category of Scores:
1. Cut Score- cutoff score or cutoff, reference
point, usually numerical, derived by judgment and
used to divide a set of data into two or
more classifications.
Who shall be licensed in a given field?
Aid decision making- personnel hiring
5. TECHNICAL QUALITY
⎯ Psychometric soundness of a test- how
consistently and accurately a psych test
measures what it purports to measure
⎯ Psychometrics- science of psychological
measurement
⎯ Psychometric - measurement that is
psychological in nature
⎯ Psychometrist and Psychometrician-
psychological test users
⎯ Psychometric utility- usefulness or practical
value that a test or assessment technique has
for a particular purpose.
⎯ Situational performance measures
Psychometrist - administers and
uses psychological testing
Psychometrician - engineers, studies
and validates psychological tests
2. THE INTERVIEW
1. Face-to-Face Interview
2. Telephone Interview
3. Online Interviews
4. E-mail interviews
5. Text messaging
1. Face-to-Face Interview- what is said, the
way it is being said. Verbal and nonverbal
behavior
2. Telephone Interview - Sensitive to changes
in voice pitch . Long pauses or signs of
emotion
INTERVIEW
⎯ Method of gathering information through
direct communication involving reciprocal
exchange.
differ in: 3
1. Purpose
2. Length
3. Nature
Panel Interview
⎯ More than one interviewer participates in
personnel assessment.
⎯ Board Interview
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
⎯ Advantage: Idiosyncratic biases of a lone
interviewer will be minimized
⎯ Disadvantage: Utility- Cost may not be
justified
Interviewers differ in many ways:
1. Pacing
2. Rapport with the interviewees
3. Ability to convey
genuineness, empathy, and humor
3. THE PORTFOLIO
⎯ Portfolio- files of their work products
⎯ Sample’s of one’s ability
and accomplishment.
⎯ Tool of evaluation
4. CASE HISTORY DATA
⎯ Refers to 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 an assessee.
⎯ Include files or excerpts from files maintained
at institutions
⎯ Case history data in clinical evaluation
individual’s past and current adjustment ▪
Events and circumstances- contributed to any
changes in adjustment. Can have critical
value in neuropsychological functioning prior
to occurrence of trauma
⎯ School psychologists- case history data for
student’s current academic or
behavioral standing
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION
⎯ Monitoring the actions of others or oneself by
visual or electronic means while recording
quantitative and/or qualitative information
regarding the actions
⎯ Useful in: 3
1. Diagnostic aid in inpatient facilities, behavioral
research laboratories and classrooms
2. Selection purposes- corporate settings
3. Therapeutic intervention
⎯ Naturalistic observation- venture outside
research laboratories, etc.
5. ROLE-PLAY TESTS
⎯ Role Play- acting an improvised or partially
improvised part in a simulated situation
⎯ Role-play test- tool of assessment wherein
assessees are directed to act as if they were
in a particular situation.
⎯ Evaluated with regard to their: 4
1. Expressed thoughts
2. Behaviors
3. Abilities
4. Other variables
Mediate a hypothetical dispute between
personnel at a work site
Leadership ability
▪ Useful in evaluating various skills:
1. Grocery shopping skills- for those with
psychiatric disorders, evaluating a skill necessary
for independent living.
2. Corporate, industrial, organization, military
context- for managerial or
leadership ability
3. Clinical contexts: substance abusers
6. COMPUTERS AS TOOLS
⎯ Contemporary assessment- generating
simulations
⎯ Measurement of variables in the past difficult
to quantify
⎯ Role in test administrating, scoring
and interpretation
⎯ Computers can serve as test administrators
offline or online- highly efficient test scorers
⎯ Local processing- scoring may be done on-
site
⎯ Central processing- some central location
⎯ Teleprocessing- means of phone lines, mail
or courier
⎯ Simple scoring report to extended
scoring report- statistical analyses of the
testtaker’s performance
⎯ Interpretative report- numerical or narrative
interpretative statement
⎯ Consultative report- expert opinion
concerning analysis of the data
⎯ Integrative report- previously collected data
into the test report
CAPA - COMPUTER ASSISTED
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
⎯ Assisted- assistance computers provide to
the test user, not to the testtaker
⎯ Develop psychometrically sound tests using
mathematical procedures and calculations
⎯ Construction of tailor-made tests with built-in
scoring and interpretive capabilities
CAT - COMPUTER ADAPTIVE TESTING
⎯ Adaptive- computer’s ability to tailor the test
to the testtaker’s ability or testtaking pattern
⎯ Programmed to switch from testing math skills
to English skills after three
consecutive failures on math items
⎯ The National Council of State Boards
of Nursing (NCSBN) develops the
NCLEX exam to test the competency of
nursing school graduates in the U.S. and
Canada.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
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Hyfa Grace Mapambocol
7. OTHER TOOLS
⎯ Videos- used in training and evaluation
contexts
⎯ Thermometers
⎯ Gauges- blood pressure
⎯ Biofeedback equipment- obtain measures of
bodily reactions (muscular tension)
⎯ Penile plethysmograph- male sexual arousal
Tests of Smell
WHO ARE THE PARTIES?
1. The test developer
2. The test user
3. The testtaker
4. Society
5. Other parties
1. THE TEST DEVELOPER
⎯ Create tests or other methods of assessment
⎯ APA- estimated 20,000 psychological
tests are developed each year.
⎯ Created for specific research study
⎯ Created to represent refinements
or modifications of existing tests
⎯ Professional organizations- standards
of ethical behavior - test development
and use
⎯ American Education Research Association
(AERA)
⎯ American Psychological Association (APA)
National Council on Measurement in
Education (NCME)
⎯ THE STANDARDS - Wrote the most detailed
document addressing issues on ethical
behavior and responsible test development
and use
“The Standards”
⎯ Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing
▪ Covers issues on: 3
1. Test construction and evaluation
2. Test administration and use
3. Special application of tests
(linguistic minorities)
2. THE TEST USER
- Professionals -Clinicians -Counselors
- School & Experimental psychologists
- Human resources personnel
-Social psychologists
- Consumer psychologists
- Third parties
3. THE TESTTAKER
⎯ Testtakers vary
“THE STANDARDS”
⎯ Identifies who is qualified as a test user
and
⎯ who should have access to psychological
tests and related tools of psychological
assessment.
Testtaker- anyone who is the subject of an
assessment or an evaluation
PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY
⎯ Reconstruction of a deceased individual’s
psychological profile on the basis of archival
records, artifacts and interviews
⎯ HOWARD HUGHES - the billionaire
⎯ aviator, spent most of his life trying to
avoid germs
4. SOCIETY AT LARGE
⎯ As society evolves and as the need to
measure different psychological variables
emerges, test developers respond by devising
new tests.
⎯ Specific questions asked shifted with societal
concerns
5. OTHER PARTIES
⎯ Organizations
⎯ Companies
⎯ Governmental agencies
o sponsor the development of tests
o extensions of test publishers
o offer test-scoring or interpretation
services
o marketing and sales of the tests
o academicians who review tests and
evaluate their psychometric
soundness
IN WHAT TYPES OF SETTINGS ARE
ASSESSMENTS CONDUCTED AND WHY? : 7
1. Educational Settings
2. Clinical Settings
3. Counseling Settings
4. Geriatric Settings
5. Business and Military Settings
6. Governmental and Organizational
Credentialing 7. Other Settings
1. EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS
⎯ School ability tests
⎯ Achievement test- evaluates
accomplishment or the degree of learning
⎯ Tests given by teachers
⎯ Scholastic Aptitude Test
⎯ Diagnostic Test
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oTool of assessment used to help
narrow down and identify areas of
deficit to be targeted for intervention
o Tests of reading, mathematics, and
other academic subjects
o To assess the need for educational
intervention as well as to establish or
rule out eligibility for special education
programs
⎯ Informal Evaluation
o nonsystematic assessment that leads
to the formation of an opinion or
attitude.
o Works and plays well with others
2. CLINICAL SETTINGS
⎯ Public, private, military hospitals, inpatient and
outpatient clinics, private practice consulting
rooms, schools and other institutions.
⎯ Screen or diagnose behavior problems
⎯ Method of psychotherapy is effective?
♣ Intelligence tests
♣ Personality tests
♣ Neuropsychological tests
3. COUNSELING SETTINGS
⎯ Schools, prisons, government or privately
owned institutions
⎯ Objective: Improvement of the assessee
in adjustment, productivity, etc.
⎯ Measures of social and academic skills
⎯ Measures of personality, interest, attitudes
and values
⎯ “For what career is this client best suited?”
4. GERIATRIC SETTINGS
⎯ To evaluate cognitive, psychological,
adaptive, or other functioning.
⎯ Issue is extent to which assessees are
enjoying as good a quality of life as possible
⎯ typically assessed in such research includes
evaluation with respect to variables such as
perceived stress, loneliness, sources
of satisfaction, personal values, quality of
living conditions, and quality of friendships
and other social support
5. BUSINESS AND MILITARY SETTINGS
⎯ Decision making about the careers of
personnel
⎯ Engineering and design of products and
environments
⎯ Engineering psychologists employ a variety of
existing and specially devised tests in
research designed to help people at home, in
the workplace, and in the military.
⎯ Help corporations predict the public’s
receptivity to a new product, a new brand, or a
new advertising or marketing campaign.
⎯ Diagnose the needs of existing and older
brands and products- more appealing to the
consumers
6. GOVERNMENTAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL CREDENTIALING
⎯ Governmental licensing, certification, or
general credentialing of professionals.
⎯ Bar examinations- Law-school graduate to be
an attorney
7. OTHER SETTINGS
⎯ Courts- psych test data and related expert
testimony
⎯ Program evaluation
⎯ Is the program working? How can it be
improved?
⎯ Health psychology- focuses on
understanding the role of psychological
variables in the onset, course, treatment and
prevention of illness, disease and disability;
how can we promote good health?
⎯ Individual interviews, surveys, and paper and-
pencil test
⎯ Measurement tools- quantify depression
⎯ The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression,
abbreviated HDRS, HRSD or HAM-D
⎯ College athletes’ motivation to use alcohol
using a test called the Drinking Motives
Measure (DMM)
HOW ARE ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED?
Responsible test users have obligations before,
during, and after a test
BEFORE A TEST:
⎯ stored in a way that reasonably ensures that
its specific contents will not be made known in
advance
⎯ ensure that a prepared and suitably trained
person administers the test properly.
⎯ test administrator (or examiner) must be
familiar with the test materials and procedures
⎯ Must have all the test materials needed-
stopwatch, supply of pencils, number of test
protocols
⎯ Selecting and Using Tests most appropriate
for the individual
⎯ Room is suitable and conducive to the testing
DURING A TEST ADMINISTRATION
⎯ One-on-one or small group testing- rapport is
important
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⎯ Rapport-working relationship
⎯ between the examiner and the examinee.
⎯ Engaging the child in play or some other
activity to establish rapport
AFTER A TEST
⎯ Safeguarding the test protocols
⎯ Conveying the test results in a clearly and
understandable fashion.
⎯ Scoring the test
⎯ Interpreting the test results
⎯ Seeing to it that the test data are used in
⎯ accordance with established procedures and
ethical guidelines
ASSESSMENT OF PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES
⎯ Assessment reasons- the same
⎯ as people with no disabilities:
o Obtain employment
o earn a professional credential
o screened for psychopathology
ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT
⎯ is an evaluative or diagnostic procedure or
process that varies from the usual, customary,
or standardized way a measurement is
derived either by virtue of some special
accommodation made to the assessee or by
means of alternative methods designed to
measure the same variable(s).
ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS
⎯ Accomplished by means of accommodation
made
⎯ 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 assesse with exceptional
needs.
⎯ Large-print version and specially lit
⎯ test environment – difficulty reading the small
print
⎯ Sign language – Hearing impairment
⎯ Extended evaluation time, frequent
⎯ breaks – ADHD
⎯ Braille or audiotape – visual impairment
WHERE TO GO FOR AUTHORITATIVE
INFORMATION: REFERENCE SOURCES: 6
1. Test Catalogues
2. Test Manuals
3. Reference Volumes
4. Journal Articles
5. Online Databases
6. Other Sources
1. TEST CATALOGUES
⎯ Most readily accessible
⎯ Brief description of the test
⎯ Objective is to sell the test
⎯ Highly critical reviews of a test are seldom
found in a publisher’s test catalogue
2. TEST MANUALS
⎯ Available from the test publisher
⎯ Technical information
⎯ Details- development of the test
⎯ Psychometrically sound
⎯ Description of their own limitations
3.REFERENCE VOLUMES
⎯ Buros Institute of Mental Measurement
⎯ Mental Measurements Yearbook (1933)
⎯ 17th Annual Mental Measurements Yearbook
in 2007 Compiled by Oscar Buros
⎯ Disseminates series of publications called
Tests in print - contains a listing of all
commercially available English-Language
Tests in print.
⎯ Detailed information: test publisher, test
author, test purpose, intended test population
and test administration time
4. JOURNAL ARTICLES
⎯ Articles in current journals- contain reviews of
the test, updated or independent studies of its
psychometric soundness
▪ Psychological Bulletin,
▪ Psychological Review,
▪ Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice,
▪ Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology,
▪ Psychology & Marketing,
▪ Psychology in the Schools,
▪ School Psychology Quarterly, and
▪ School Psychology Review.
▪Journal of Psychoeducational
Assessment,
▪Psychological Assessment,
▪Educational and Psychological
Measurement,
▪Applied Measurement in Education, and
the
▪Journal of Personality Assessment.
⎯ Focus on matters related to testing and
assessment
⎯ Journals such as: Psychology, Public Policy,
and Law and Law and Human Behavior
contain highly informative articles on legal and
ethical issues and controversies
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o relate to psychological testing and
assessment
⎯ Journals are a rich source of information on
important trends in testing and assessment
5. ONLINE DATABASES
⎯ Educational Resources Information Center
(ERIC)- bibliographic databases for test-
related publications
⎯ Wealth of resources and news about tests,
testing and assessment
⎯ abstracts of articles, original articles, and links
to other useful Web sites
⎯ ERIC strives to provide balanced information
concerning educational assessment and to
provide resources that encourage responsible
test use
American Psychological Association (APA)-
number of databases useful in locating
psychology-related information in journal articles,
book chapters, and doctoral dissertations.
♣ PsycINFO - database of abstracts dating
back to 1887
♣ ClinPSYC - database derived from
PsycINFO that focuses
♣ on abstracts of a clinical nature.
♣ PsycSCAN - Psychopharmacology contains
abstracts of articles concerning
psychopharmacology.
♣ PsycARTICLES - database of full-length
articles dating back to 1988.
♣ Health and Psychosocial Instruments
(HAPI) - contains a listing of measures
created or modified for specific research
studies but not commercially available; it is
available at many college libraries through
BRS Information Technologies and also on
CD-ROM
♣ PsycLAW - free database, available to
everyone, that contains discussions of
selected topics involving psychology and law.
EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE
(ETS) - World’s largest private measurement
institution
▪ Princeton, New Jersey
▪ 2,500 people, 1,000 measurement professionals
and education specialist
▪ SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test
▪ GRE Graduate Record Exam
7. OTHER SOURCES
⎯ School Library
⎯ Directory of Unpublished
⎯ Experimental Measures
⎯ Test in Microfiche
⎯ Wealth of background information about tests
and other tools of assessment
SOCIAL, ETHICAL AND LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS OF TESTING
LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
⎯ Laws- rules that individuals must obey for the
good of the society as a whole
⎯ Ethics- body of principles of right, proper or
good conduct
⎯ Code of professional ethics- recognized
and accepted by members of a profession
⎯ Standard of care expected of members of that
profession
Ethical Code
⎯ Professional guidelines for
appropriate behavior
⎯ American Counseling Association (2005)
⎯ American Psychological Association (2003)
⎯ Psychological Association of the Philippines
(2009)
The Concerns of the Public:
⎯ Some people are not convinced that testing is
sufficient or useful
⎯ RA 10029- The Psychology Law
Concerns of the Profession:
⎯ Test User Qualifications- APA Committee on
Ethical Standards
⎯ Level A, B,C
In the Philippines
⎯ Psychometrician- Test administration and
Scoring of standardized test
⎯ Psychologist- Test administration, scoring,
interpretation of standardized test and
projective tests
3 LEVELS OF TESTS- DEGREE TO WHICH
THE TEST’S USE REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE
OF TESTING AND PSYCHOLOGY
⎯ Level A- Tests than can adequately be
administered, scored and interpreted
w/the aid of the manual and general
orientation to the institution or organization
o Achievement/Proficiency Tests
o Specialized Aptitude Test (skill
based)
⎯ Level B- Tests that require some
technical knowledge of test construction
and use, supporting psych and
educational fields like statistics, individual
differences, psych of adjustment,
personnel psych, guidance
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oincludes tests which require
specific training for administration,
scoring and interpretation
o Aptitude tests and adjustment
inventories applicable to normal
populations
o Group Intelligence Test
o Personality tests
⎯ Level C- Tests that require substantial
understanding of testing and supporting
psychological fields together with
supervised experience in the use of
devices
o Projective tests
o Individual intelligence tests
o Diagnostic test
Cross-cultural Sensitivity
⎯ Ethical guideline to protect clients from
discrimination and bias in testing.
⎯ The code stresses the importance of
professionals being aware of and attending to
the effects of age, color, cultural identity,
disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual
orientation, and socioeconomic status on
administration and test interpretation.
Proper Diagnosis
⎯ Choose appropriate assessment techniques
for accurate diagnosis.
⎯ The codes emphasize the important role that
professionals play when deciding which
assessment techniques to use in forming
diagnosis for mental disorder and the
ramification of making such diagnosis.
Release of Test Data
⎯ Test data are protected-client release required
⎯ The codes assert that data should only be
released to others if the clients have given
their consent.
⎯ The release of such data is generally only
given to individuals who can adequately
interpret the test data and to those who will
not misuse the information.
Test Administration
⎯ The codes reinforce the notion that tests
should be administered in a manner that is in
accord with the way that they were
established and standardized.
⎯ Alterations to this process should be noted
Test Security
⎯ The codes remind professionals that it is their
responsibility to make reasonable efforts to
ensure the integrity of test content and the
security of the test itself.
⎯ Professionals should not duplicate tests or
change test materials without the permission
of the publisher.
Test Scoring and Interpretation
⎯ The codes highlight the fact that when scoring
test and interpreting their results,
professionals should reflect on how test
worthiness (reliability, validity, cross-cultural
fairness, and practicality) might affect the
results.
Moral Issues
A. Human Rights
B. Labeling
C. Invasion of Privacy
D. Divided Loyalties
E. Responsibilitesof Test Users, Test Publishers,
and Test Constructors
Human Rights
⎯ Right to Informed Consent
⎯ Right to know their test results and basis of
any decisions that affect their lives
⎯ Right to know who will have access to test
data and right to confidentiality of test results
Informed Consent
⎯ Permission given by the client after
assessment process is explained.
⎯ Informed consent involves the right of clients
to obtain information about the nature and
purpose of all aspects of the assessment
process and for clients to give their
permission to be assessed.
Non-requirement of informed consent
1. Mandated by the law.
2. Testing as routine educational, institutional, or
organizational activity.
3. Evaluation of decisional capacity
Invasion of Privacy
⎯ The codes generally acknowledge that, to
some degree, all test invade one’s privacy
and highlight the importance of clients
understanding how their privacy might be
violated upon.
⎯ Psychologists explain that some aspects of
psychological assessment may involve
questions of a sensitive personal nature
Confidentiality
⎯ Ethical guideline to protect client information.
⎯ Whether conducting a broad assessment of a
client or giving one test, keeping information
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confidential is a critical part of the assessment
process and follows similar guidelines to how
one would keep information confidential in a
therapeutic relationship.
When can one reveal confidential information?
According to Neukrug(2007):
1.If a client is in danger of harming himself or
herself or someone else;
2.If a child is a minor and the law states that
parents have a right to information about their
child;
3.If a client asks you to break confidentiality
(for example, your testimony is needed in
court)
4.If you are bound by the law to break
confidentiality (for example you are hired by
the courts to assess an individual’s capacity to
stand trial);
5.To reveal information about your client to your
supervisor in order to benefit the client;
6.When you have a written agreement from your
client to reveal information to specified sources
(for example, the court has asked you to send a
test report to them).
Philippine Law
RA 10029, Article VII, Section 30
⎯ Rights to Privilege Communication for
Psychologists and Psychometricians.
⎯ A psychologists or psychometrician cannot,
without the consent of the client/patient, be
examined on any communication or
information disclosed and/or acquired in the
course of giving psychological services to
such client.
⎯ The protection accorded herein shall extend
to all pertinent records and shall be available
to the secretary, clerk or other staff of the to
the secretary, clerk or other staff of the
licensed psychologist or psychometrician.
⎯ Any evidence obtained in violation of this
provision shall be inadmissible for any
purpose in any proceeding. licensed
psychologist or psychometrician.
Divided Loyalties
⎯ Psychologist are torn whether their client is
the institution or the person.
⎯ Institutions should be informed of what they
needed or answer the referral question only.
Responsibilities of Test Users,
Publishers and Constructors
Use assessment instrument to samples similar of
the standardization group
(reliability, validity, established norms)
Test users must possess knowledge of test
construction and supporting researches of any
test they administer.
Test developers should provide psychometric
properties of the test specified scoring and
administration and clear description of the
normative sample.
Moral Principles
⎯ Kitchener (1984) has identified five moral
principles that are viewed as the cornerstone
of our ethical guidelines
⎯ helps to clarify the issues involved in a given
situation
1. Autonomy- respecting the client’s rights of
self-determination and freedom of choice
2. Non-maleficence- ensuring professionals do
no harm
3. Beneficence- promoting the well being of
others and of society
4. Justice- Providing equal and fair treatment to
all people and being non discriminatory.
5. Fidelity- Being loyal and faithful to
6. your commitments in the helping relationship.
7. Veracity- Dealing honestly with the client.
TESTS AND TESTING
Some Assumptions About Psychological
Testing and Assessment
Assumption 1: Psychological Traits and
States Exist
⎯ Trait - any distinguishable, relatively enduring
way in which one individual varies from
another
⎯ States - relatively less enduring
⎯ Trait & state - one individual varies from
another
⎯ Samples of behavior - direct observation,
self-report statements, pencil-and-paper test
answers
⎯ Psychological trait exists only as a
construct
• an informed, scientific concept developed
or constructed to describe or explain
behavior.
• infer their existence from overt behavior
Assumption 2: Psychological Traits and
States Can Be Quantified and Measured
⎯ Specific traits and states to be measured and
quantified need to be carefully defined.
⎯ Types of behaviors are presumed to be
indicative of someone who is aggressive as
defined by the test
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⎯ Test score is presumed to represent the
strength of the targeted ability or trait or state
and is frequently based on cumulative
scoring.
• the more the testtaker responds in a
particular direction as keyed by the test
manual as correct or consistent with a
particular trait, the higher that testtaker is
presumed to be on the targeted ability or
trait.
Assumption 3: Test-Related Behavior Predicts
Non-Test-Related Behavior
⎯ Test is to provide some indication of other
aspects of the examinee’s behavior.
⎯ The obtained sample of behavior is typically
used to make predictions about future
behavior, such as work performance of a job
applicant.
⎯ Patterns of answers to true-false questions on
one widely used test of personality are used in
decision making regarding mental disorders
⎯ eg.Volunteerism - expect that the test taker
will volunteer
Assumption 4: Tests and Other Measurement
Techniques Have Strengths and Weaknesses
⎯ Understand and appreciate the limitations of
the test
⎯ How those limitations might be compensated
⎯ Competent users need to know a great deal
about the tests they used
Assumption 5: Various Sources of Error Are
Part of the Assessment Process
⎯ Error to refer to mistakes, miscalculation
⎯ Error component of the measurement
process.
⎯ Error refers to a long-standing assumption
that factors other than what a test attempts to
measure will influence performance on the
test.
⎯ Error variance, that is, the component of a
test score attributable to sources other than
the trait or ability measured.
⎯ Sources of error - assesses, assessors,
measuring instruments
⎯ Classical test theory (CTT; or true score
theory) each testtaker has a true score on a
test that would be obtained but for the action
of measurement error.
⎯ formula: X (observed score)= T (true ability) +
e (random error)
Assumption 6: Testing and Assessment
Can Be Conducted in a Fair and Unbiased
Manner
⎯ Fairness - related questions and problems
occasionally arise
⎯ sources of fairness-related problems: test
user who uses a test with people whose
background and experiences are different
from the background & experiences of people
for whom the test was intended
⎯ test can be used properly and improperly
Assumption 7: Testing and Assessment
Benefit Society
⎯ imagine a world without tests
⎯ one can present themselves as
surgeons/engrs/arch/ psychologists
⎯ need for test = good tests
What’s a “Good Test”?
Psychometric soundness of test
⎯ Reliability - consistency of measuring tool.
Precursor to validity
⎯ Validity - measures what it purports to
measures
⎯ Other considerations: good test is one that
trained examiners can administer, score, and
interpret with a minimum of difficulty. A good
test is a useful test, one that yields actionable
results that will ultimately benefit individual
testtakers or society at large.
NORMS
Norm-referenced testing and assessment
⎯ method of evaluation and a way of
deriving meaning from test scores by
evaluating an individual testtaker’s score
and comparing it to scores of a group of
testtakers. testtaker’s standing or ranking
relative to some comparison group of
testtakers.
Norm
⎯ refer to behavior that is usual, average,
normal, standard, expected, or typical.
Norms
⎯ test performance data of a particular
group of testtakers that are designed for
use as a reference when evaluating or
interpreting individual test scores.
Norming
⎯ refer to the process of deriving norms.
⎯ modified to describe a particular type of
norm derivation.
⎯ norming a test especially with the
participation of a nationally representative
normative sample can be very expensive
Race norming
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a) controversial practice of norming on the basis
of race or ethnic background.
User norms or program norms,
⎯ consist of descriptive statistics based on a
group of testtakers in a given period of
time rather than norms obtained by formal
sampling methods”
Normative group/sample
Sampling to Develop Norms
Standardization or test standardization
⎯ process of administering a test to a
representative sample of testtakers for the
purpose of establishing norms
⎯ test is said to be standardized when it has
clearly specified procedures for
administration and scoring,
Sampling
⎯ process of developing a test, a test
developer has targeted some defined
group as the population for which the test
is designed.
⎯ Sample of the population—a portion of
the universe of people deemed to be
representative of the whole population.
1. Stratified Sampling - sample people
representing different subgroups
2. Purposive Sampling - select sample
because we believe it to be representative of
population
3. Convenient Sampling/ Incidental Sampling
- Convenient & available for use
Developing norms for a standardized test
⎯ obtained a sample,
⎯ standard set of instructions and conditions
that are then replicated
⎯ summarize the data using descriptive
statistics, including measures of central
tendency and variability.
⎯ describe the populations, dates the data were
gathered, process used to select the samples
of testtakes
TYPES OF NORMS
1. PERCENTILE NORMS
⎯ relative position of a scores within a
distribution of scores (100). Expression of
the percentage of people whose scores on
a test falls below a particular raw score.
⎯ Percentage correct - refers to the
distribution of raw scores—
o number of items that were
answered correctly multiplied by
100 and divided by the total
number of items.
2. AGE NORMS (age-equivalent scores, age
norms)
⎯ indicate the average performance of
different samples of testtakers who were
at various ages at the time the test was
administered.
3. GRADE NORMS
⎯ average test performance of testtakers in
a given school grade
⎯ convenient, readily understandable
gauges of how ones performance
compares with that of fellow students in
same grade
⎯ Drawback: useful only with respect to
years/months of schooling completed
⎯ Developmental norms - both grade
norms and age norms.
o term applied broadly to norms
developed on the basis of any trait,
ability, skill, or other characteristic
that is presumed to develop,
deteriorate, or otherwise be
affected by chronological age,
school grade, or stage of life.
4. NATIONAL NORMS
⎯ derived from a normative sample that was
nationally representative of the population
at the time the norming study was
conducted.
5. NATIONAL ANCHOR NORMS
⎯ reading test - BRT & XYZ test
⎯ provide stability to test scores by
anchoring them to other test scores
⎯ equipercentile method, the equivalency
of scores on different tests is calculated
with reference to corresponding percentile
scores.
6. SUBGROUP NORMS
⎯ results from such segmentation are more
narrowly
7. LOCAL NORMS
⎯ developed by test users themselves
⎯ provide normative information with respect to
the local population’s performance on some
test.
 Another type of aid in providing a context for
interpretation is termed a fixed reference
group scoring system.
 fixed reference group— used as the basis
for the calculation of test scores for future
administrations of the test.
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 Criterion-referenced testing and
assessment - defined as a method of
evaluation and a way of deriving meaning
from test scores by evaluating an individual’s
score with reference to a set standard.
CORRELATION & INFERENCE
Inference - deduced conclusions about how
some things are related to other things; traits,
abilities, interest - behavior
Coefficient of correlation (correlation
coefficient)
⎯ number that provides us with an index
of the strength of the relationship
between two things.
The Concept of Correlation
Correlation - expression of the degree and
direction of correspondence between two things.
Coefficient of correlation (r) - expresses a
linear relationship between two (and only two)
variables, usually continuous in nature.
• degree of concomitant variation
between variable x & variable y
⎯ Sign
a) + positive correlation - positively or directly
correlated- both increases of decreases
b) - negative correlation - negative or inversely
correlated - increase, other decreases
c) none 0 correlation - no relationship exist
(perfect correlation)
⎯ Magnitude
a) number between -1 , + 1 = no causation
b) perfect correlation +1 , - 1 = there is an
implication of prediction
The PEARSON r
⎯ Pearson correlation coefficient and the
Pearson product-moment coefficient of
correlation.
⎯ Devised by Karl Pearson
⎯ r can be the statistical tool of choice when the
relationship between the variables is linear
and when the two variables being correlated
are continuous
⎯ interval/ration
o takes into account the relative position
of each test score/measurement with
respect to the mean of the distribution
⎯ Coefficient of determination - indication of
how much variance is shared by the X- and
the Y-variables.
o r2 x 100
THE SPEARMAN RHO
⎯ or rank-order correlation coefficient, a rank-
difference correlation coefficient
⎯ Developed by Charles Spearman, a British
psychologist
⎯ Used when the sample size is small (fewer
than 30 pairs of measurements) and
especially when both sets of measurements
are in ordinal (or rank-order) form.
GRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS OF
CORRELATION
⎯ bivariate distribution, a scatter
diagram, a scattergram, or scatterplot.
Scatterplot
⎯ simple graphing of the coordinate points for
values of the X-variable (placed along the
graph’s horizontal axis) and the Y-variable
(placed along the graph’s vertical axis).
⎯ provide a quick indication of the direction and
magnitude of the relationship, if any, between
the two variables.
⎯ To distinguish positive from negative
correlations, note the direction of the curve.
And to estimate the strength of magnitude of
the correlation, note the degree to which the
points form a straight line.
Curvilinearity
⎯ refers to an “eyeball gauge” of how curved
a graph is.
Outlier
⎯ extremely atypical point located at a
relatively long distance—an outlying
distance—from the rest of the coordinate
points in a scatterplot
REGRESSION
⎯ analysis of relationships among variables
for the purpose of understanding how one
variable may predict another
⎯ simple regression:
o 1 IV (X) - predictor variable
o 1 DV (Y) - outcome variable
⎯ Regression line - line of best fit
o (Y = a + b X)
o equation: a and b - regression
coefficients
o b - slope of the line
o a - intercept - where the line
crosses Y axis
Meta-analysis
⎯ best estimates of the correlation between
2 variables - analysis from several studies
⎯ range of statistical values that appear in
various studies
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⎯ correlation between x & y ranges from .73
to .91
⎯ combine statistically the information
across various studies
⎯ META - ANALYSIS - defined as a family
of techniques used to statistically combine
information across studies to produce
single estimates of the data under study.
The estimates derived, referred to as
effect size, may take several different
forms.
⎯ advantages: more weight can be given in
studies that have larger number of
subjects etc.
Formula in calculating correlation coefficient:
⎯ Test environment: room temperature, level
of lighting, and amount of ventilation and
noise
⎯ Testtaker variables. Pressing emotional
problems, physical discomfort, lack of sleep,
and the effects of drugs or medication
⎯ Examiner-related variables: examiner’s
physical appearance and demeanor—even
the presence or absence of an examiner
⎯ Oral examination, some examiners may
unwittingly provide clues by emphasizing key
words as they pose questions.
TEST SCORING AND INTERPRETATION
⎯ advent of computer scoring
⎯ computer-scorable items have virtually
eliminated error variance caused by scorer
differences.
⎯ Scorers and scoring systems are potential
sources of error variance
⎯ Subjectivity of the scorer - addressed through
training

Test-retest reliability- estimate of reliability

obtained by correlating pairs of scores from the
same people on two different administrations
Size of the Coefficient General Limitations:
Correlation interpretation Practice effect - a type of carryover effect wherein
.8 to 1.0 Very strong relationship the scores on the second test administration are
.6 to .8 Strong relationship higher than they were on test
.4 to .6 Moderate relationship if results of the first & second administration has a
.2 to .4 Weak relationship low correlation, it might mean that:
.0 to .2 Weak or no relationship • test has poor reliability
• major change had occurred on the
SYSTEMATIC SOURCE OF ERROR subjects between first & second
⎯ Systematic source of error - would not affect administration
consistency • combination of low reliability and major
⎯ does not change the variability of the change have occurred
distribution or affect reliability • poor test-retest correlation do not
⎯ ex. Weigh scale consistently underweighed mean that the test is unreliable. it
everyone who stepped on it by 5 pounds might mean that the variable under
o relative standing of the people remain study has changed.
unchanged.
PARALLEL-FORMS AND ALTERNATE-FORMS
TEST CONSTRUCTION RELIABILITY ESTIMATES
⎯ sampling or content sampling- variation ⎯ 2 test administrations with the same group are
among items within a test, variation among required
items between tests ⎯ test scores may be affected by factors such
⎯ The way item is constructed as motivations, fatigue, practice,
⎯ Errors in spelling/word choice learning/therapy
⎯ arrangement of test items ⎯ Item sampling - source of error variance (do
⎯ sentence constructions worse of better because of particular items
included in the test)
TEST ADMINISTRATION Disadvantage: Time-consuming and
expensive
⎯ occur during test administration may influence
the testtaker’s attention or motivation.
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Advantageous for the test user in several
ways - minimizes the effect of memory
⎯ Tests should contain the same number of
items and the items should be expressed in
the same form and should cover the same
type of content. Range & level of difficulty
must also be equal.
INTERNAL CONSISTENCY ESTIMATE OF
RELIABILITY or estimate of inter-item
consistency.
⎯ estimate of the reliability of a test can be
obtained without developing an alternate form
of the test and without having to administer
the test twice to the same people.
⎯ evaluation of the internal consistency of the
test items
⎯ Obtained through Split-half reliability
estimate
INTERNAL CONSISTENCY
⎯ used when tests are administered once
⎯ suggests that there is consistency among
items within the test
⎯ this model of reliability measures the
internal consistency of test which is the
degree to which each test item measures
the same construct. It is simply the inter
correlation among items
⎯ If all items on a test measure same
construct, then it has a good internal
consistency.
SPLIT-HALF RELIABILITY ESTIMATES
⎯ Estimate of split-half reliability is obtained
by correlating two pairs of scores obtained
from equivalent halves of a single test
⎯ useful measure of reliability when it is
impractical or undesirable to assess reliability
with two tests or to administer a test twice
(because of factors such as time or expense).
⎯ Randomly assign items to one or the other
half of the test
⎯ Odd-even reliability - odd - numbered items
and even - numbered items
Computation of a coefficient of split-half reliability
generally entails three steps:
√ Step 1. Divide the test into equivalent
halves.
√ Step 2. Calculate a Pearson r between
scores on the two halves of the test.
√ Step 3. Adjust the half-test reliability using
the Spearman–Brown formula (discussed
shortly).
THE SPEARMAN–BROWN FORMULA
⎯ estimate internal consistency reliability from a
correlation of two halves of a test.
⎯ By determining the reliability of one half of a
test, a test developer can use the Spearman–
Brown formula to estimate the reliability of a
whole test.
OTHER METHODS OF ESTIMATING
INTERNAL CONSISTENCY
⎯ Inter-item consistency - refers to the degree
of correlation among all the items on a scale.
⎯ index of inter-item consistency - in
assessing the homogeneity of the test.
⎯ Homogenous test - measure single trait
o measures a single factor of unifactorial
o more homogeneous - more inter-item
consistence
o tests that assesses knowledge only of
color television repair skills
⎯ Heterogeneity of the test - test measures
different factors, measure more than 1 trait
o test of electronic repair
KUDER - RICHARDSON FORMULAS
⎯ G. Frederic Kuder and M. W. Richardson
⎯ Kuder–Richardson formula 20, or KR-20 -
20th formula developed in a series.
⎯ inter - item consistency of dichotomous items
(right/wrong)
⎯ multiple choice items - right/wrong answers
⎯ KR - 21 formula - approximation of KR 20,
same degree of difficulty
⎯ Coefficient alpha - variant of the KR-20
formula
PHI CORRELATION - measure of the association
between two binary variables.
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