Ch. 4 - Testing Flashcards
trait
any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one person varies from another
state
distinguish one person from another, but less enduring than a trait
construct
an informed, scientific concept developed or constructed to describe or explain behavior. we can’t directly see, hear, touch - we infer the existence based on overt behaviors
overt behavior
observable action or the product of observable action, including test responses
norms
the test performance data of a particular group (a sample) designed for use as a reference for evaluating or interpreting individual test scores
norm-referenced testing
deriving meaning from test scores by evaluating an individual testtaker’s score and comparing it to scores of a group of testtakers in order to yield info about the testtaker’s standing or ranking relative to some comparison group
criterion-referenced testing
compares test scores to a predetermined value or set of criterion (rather than the scores of a sample - like norm-referenced); method of evaluation and a way of deriving meaning from test scores by evaluating an individual’s score with reference to a set standard (e.g., state licensing test). AKA domain- or content-referenced AKA masterty test
error is
expected. it is a part of the measuring process. the assumption that factors other than what a test attempts to measure will influence performance on the test
error variance
the part of the test score that is due to factors other than the trait/state/ability being measured
reliability
consistency; yielding the same measurement every time it measures the same thing under the same conditions
validity
test is valid if it measures what it purports to measure
normative sample
the group of people whose performance ona particular test is analyzed for reference in evaluating the performance of individual testtakers
a good test is…
reliable, valid, useful, easy to administer, score, and interpret with minimal difficulty
sample
a portion of the universe of people deemed to be representative of the whole population
stratified sampling
selecting members of subgroups in proportion to the current occurence of these strata in the population
random (stratified-random) sampling
every member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
incidence sample/convienence sample
a sample that is available and convenient. generalization from findings must be made with caution
steps to developing norms for a standardized test
- obtains a sample
- administer test according to standard conditions and instructions
- test data is described with MCT and variability
- test developer describes the populations represented by any norms, dates data gathered, and the process used to sample the testtakers
you can have a new X sample on a test that has already been Y.
you can have a new normative sample on a test that has already been standardized (with another normative sample). e.g., updated normative sample for a TX test has more Latinx testtakers
the xth percentile =
the score at or below which x% of scores fall
percentiles range from what, with what as the mean?
percentiles range from 0 to 100, with 50 as the mean
don’t confuse percentiles with
percentage correct
age-equivalent scores AKA age norms
indicate the average performance of different samples of testtakers who were at various ages at the time the test was administered
standardizing
making or transforming something into something that can serve as a basis for comparison or judgment
national norms
derived from a sample that was representative of a national population at the time the norming study was conducted
national anchor norms
an equivalency table for scores on two or more tests, provide some stability to test scores by anchoring them to other scores
local norms
provide normative info with respect to the local population’s performance on some test
