Characteristics of Standardized Tests

Question 1

Norm Referenced Tests

Answer 1

Has a large normative sample and bases results off of average performance of the normative sample. Usually categorized by age and gender.

Question 2

Criterion-referenced Tests

Answer 2

designed to provide information on how children perform specific tasks and refers to the fact that a child’s performance is compared to specific criteria. The goal is to determine what a child can accomplish and provide a focus for intervention. Administration and scoring may or may not be standardized.

Question 3

Reliability

Answer 3

refers to the consistency or stability of scores obtained by one individual when tested on two different occasions with different sets of items or under other variable exam conditions.
a coefficient of .80 or 80% is considered acceptable for the reliability of an assessment.
There are three forms of reliability

Question 4

Test-Retest Reliability

Answer 4

measurement of the stability of a test over time and is obtained by giving the same test to the same individual on two different occasions.
A test that has a high reliability coefficient is more likely to produce stable scores over time.

Question 5

Inter-Rater Reliability

Answer 5

Refers to the ability of two independent raters to obtain the same scores when scoring the same child simultaneously.
A test that has a high reliability coefficient is less susceptible to differences in scoring.

Question 6

Standard Error of Measurement

Answer 6

A statistic used to calculate the expected range of error for the test score of an individual. It is based on the range of scores an individual might obtain is the same test were administered a number of times simultaneously with no practice or fatigue effects. It creates a bell curve for test scores with more likely scored falling in the middle and less likely scores falling on the outsides and is based on the standard deviation of the test and the test-retest reliability

Question 7

Validity

Answer 7

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure

Question 8

Construct-Related Validity

Answer 8

the extent to which a test measures a particular theoretical construct (ie. fine motor, vision/perception, self care, gross motor, functional performance)

Question 9

Content-Related Validity

Answer 9

the extent to which the items on a test accurately sample a particular behavior domain. A sample of activities in a construct must be chosen for inclusion

Question 10

Criterion-Related Validity

Answer 10

the ability of a test to predict how an individual performs on other measurements or activities. Has two types: Concurrent and Predictive.

Question 11

Concurrent Validity

Answer 11

A type of criterion validity that determines the relationship between a new test and existing tests that measure a similar construct
A test with a concurrent validity coefficient of 0.70 or above indicated that performance on one test can predict performance on another test (coefficients usually range from .40 - .80)

Question 12

Predictive Validity

Answer 12

the relationship between a test given in the present and some measure of performance in the future