CONSTRUCTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF PSYCHOMOTOR TESTS

A. Test Construction guidelines

Jansma (1988) describes four fundamental components of the psychomotor domain: physical,
motor, fitness, and play. The physical component deals with the individual’s anatomical or
structural status. The motor component deals with the quality of movement patterns, or how well
the individual moves. The fitness component refers to the quantity of movement, or how much
movement can be sustained. The play component represents the culmination of development
within the psychomotor domain. To be a good player, the individual needs physical, motor, and
fitness competence.

Many published tests are available to measure these psychomotor domain components. There
may be occasions, however, when no published test meets the particular needs of the group you
wish to test, or you feel that you are capable of devising a better test. The following guidelines
will help you construct a good test. Because there is agreement on the techniques for estimating
the validity and reliability of norm-referenced tests, it probably would be best if you first
developed a norm-referenced test. The guidelines presented here, or ones similar to them, were
followed in the development of most of the tests presented in the following chapters.

B. Know what is required of a good test

Before constructing a psychomotor test, you should be familiar with the criteria of a good test.
Review the criteria in chapter 5.

C. Define the Performance to Be Measured

The new test might be designed to measure a sport skill, a game situation, fitness, strength,
flexibility, or other related performances. You should define the exact performance you want to
measure and state the objective of the new test. The test taker should be able to relate the test to
real-life situations (e.g., the components of a skill test should be similar to gamelike conditions).
Suppose you want to construct a new tennis serve test. Do you want to include measurement of
power in the test or just measure the ability to serve the ball into the correct area? If it is to be a
strength test, do you want to measure the strength of the leg, arm, or another body part? It may
be wise to name the muscles to be tested. If it is to be a flexibility test, you should identify the
joint or body part that will be involved in the measurement of flexibility. Also, include in your
definition characteristics of the group that will take the test (e.g., gender and age). After you have
identified and defined the performance to be measured, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Has the performance been included in the unit of instruction?

2. Can the performance be objectively measured?

3. Is there an existing test that will meet my needs?

4. You may find a previously validated test to use in establishing the validity of your test.

5. You will become more familiar with the performance components.

Once you are satisfied with your answers to these questions, you are ready to analyze the
performance that will be measured.

D. Analyze the Performance

To construct a good test, you must analyze the performance to be measured by identifying all the
components needed for successful performance. (For example, performance in softball involves
hitting, catching, throwing, and running.) After you have identified the components, select the
ones you want to measure. It is important that you give careful thought to this guideline. The
components that you identify will determine the items you include in your test. Suppose you
want to construct a test to measure hitting ability. The skill of hitting may be broken down into
four parts: grip, stance, swing, and follow-through. Successful performance of the test should
require the student to perform the fundamentals of these four parts in a mechanically sound way.

E. Review the Literature

You should review tests that measure the same performance or related performance and the
research performed to develop the tests. This review will serve several purposes:

1. You will become familiar with developing physical performance tests. You may find useful
ideas that will aid you in your project.

2. You may choose to include previously published test items in your test.

3. You may find a previously validated test to use in establishing the validity of your test.

4. You will become more familiar with the performance components.

F. Devise the Test Items

You are now ready to devise the item or items that will be included in your test. (You may also
select published test items.) It is a good idea to develop more items than you actually plan to
include in the test and to select the best ones after analyzing all the items. Keep the following
principles in mind:

1. Make the items as realistic as possible. If a sport skill is being measured, the item should be
similar to the game situation. This consideration (authentic assessment) is described in chapter 7.
The items also must be appropriate for the gender and age of the individuals being tested.

2. Make the items simple to perform. You do not want to include an item the students have
difficulty remembering. If they hesitate or forget during test performance, the validity and
reliability of the test will be affected.

3. Make the items practical. They should be inexpensive and require a minimum amount of time
to administer.

4. Determine the test layout—dimensions and administrative order of items.

5. Make the scoring simple. Simplicity of scoring will aid objectivity, lessen the time required to
train any assistants needed to administer the test, and better enable the students to understand the
scoring.

G. Prepare the Directions

The directions must be clear and precise, or the reliability and objectivity of the test will be
affected. In addition, clear directions will prevent confusion among the students. When writing
the directions, try to imagine questions that might be asked after the directions have been given
to a group. Review the directions of tests found in this book and other textbooks to aid you in the
wording.

H. Have the Test Reviewed by Your Peers

This is not the time to be hesitant in asking for assistance in your project. Ask other qualified
individuals to study your test and offer constructive criticism. What may be clear or obvious to
you may not be to others. Asking for input now may prevent problems once you administer the
test. Remember, when you ask for help, do not be oversensitive if people do not agree with
everything you have written. You do not have to accept all their suggestions; however, open-
mindedness is important in constructing successful tests.

I. Administer the Test to a Small Group of Students

At this point it would be wise to administer the test to a small group of students to determine if
there are any problems with the directions, administration, and scoring. Though not essential,
having someone else administer the test to the group while you observe and make notes of any
problems may be beneficial. Your group must be representative of the group for which the test is
designed. After the sample group has completed the test, make any necessary changes. If you
administered more items than you plan to include in the final version of the test, you can remove
the items that appear to be troublesome.

J. Determine the Validity, Reliability, and Objectivity

Having completed the previous guidelines, you are ready to determine the validity, reliability,
and objectivity coefficients of your test by administering it to a large number of students. As was
the small group, this large group must be representative of the group for which the test is
designed. For norm-referenced tests, concurrent validity is usually desired. Concurrent validity
can be estimated through ratings of experts, tournament play, and previously validated tests.
These procedures were described in chapter 5.
 K. Develop the Norms

If you have constructed a norm-referenced test, a table of norms is needed. Review the
calculations of z-scores, T-scores, and percentiles described in chapter 2; remember, norms are
usually reported by age and gender. Because a large number of scores is required to develop the
norms, it will be necessary to test several classes. If this is not possible, you can accumulate test
scores over a period of two or three years. You must administer the test the same way each time,
however. Table 8.1 summarizes the guidelines for construction of physical performance tests.

L. Determine Intercorrelations

Determining intercorrelations is necessary only if your test includes several items (referred to as
a test battery). When a test includes more than one item, all items should have high correlation
with the criterion and low correlation with each other. The correlation of the items with each
other is determined through a multiple correlation procedure. This procedure has been used with
other statistical procedures to develop many of the physical fitness, motor ability, and sports
skills tests used in physical education programs. In the construction of a test battery, not all the
items initially administered to the subjects are expected to be included in the final test battery.
When two items are highly correlated with each other, the two items are considered to measure
the same thing. The item that has the highest correlation with the criterion remains as part of the
test; the other item is discarded. Since multiple correlation will not be discussed in this book, you
should refer to a statistics book for the appropriate procedure. Table 8.2 indicates how the
developers of three tests followed test construction guidelines. The tests are described in chapter
18.