Evaluation and Selection of Psychological Tests

Question 1

What is one factor to consider when evaluating the appropriateness of a psychological test for a particular examinee or situation?

Answer 1

The qualifications of the examiner.

Question 2

What is another factor to consider when evaluating the appropriateness of a psychological test for a particular examinee or situation?

Answer 2

the characteristics of the examinee and the test.

Question 3

Regarding examiner qualifications, the _______________, __________, ________________, and other ____________________ needed to __________________ a test and ________________ its results are important ___________________ when choosing a __________ or other ___________________________________.

Answer 3

knowledge; skills; training; qualifications; administer; interpret; considerations; test; assessment technique

Question 4

Several documents published by the American Psychological Association address this issue, including the …

Answer 4

Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids (APA, 1950).

Question 5

The Ethical Standards for the Distribution of Psychological Tests and Diagnostics Aids includes a _______________ system for categorizing test user _________________.

Answer 5

three-tier; qualifications

Question 6

Level A tests may be …

Answer 6

administered and interpreted by nonpsychologists.

Question 7

Level B tests require …

Answer 7

“some technical knowledge of test construction and use … [and completion og] supporting psychological and educational subjects”.

Question 8

Level C tests should be …

Answer 8

administered only by individuals “with at least a Master’s degree in psychology … and at least one year of supervised experience under a psychologist.”

Question 9

Examinee characteristics relevant to the evaluation of a psychological test include the examinee’s a____, d_______________ level, g_______, r________ level, l_________ proficiency, ph_________ abilities, m___________, a__________, f__________ with testing procedures, and c______________ and s___________________ background.

Answer 9

age; developmental; gender; reading; language; physical; motivation; anxiety; familiarity; cultural; socioeconomic

Question 10

For example, the validity of a test is likely to be compromised when there is a mismatch between the ________________________________ and the ____________________________________.

Answer 10

language requirements of the test; examinees language proficiency

Question 11

As another example, the validity of a test is likely to be compromised when …

Answer 11

testing procedures are modified to accommodate an examinee’s disability but the test was not developed or normed for individuals with that disability.

Question 12

Regarding test characteristics, determining the appropriateness of a test requires considering not only the match between the ____________ of the test and the _____________ for the assessment but also the test’s …

Answer 12

purpose; reasons; reliability and validity, its standardization (administration and scoring procedures and norms), and the types of scores that the test provides.

Question 13

Reliability refers to …

Answer 13

the degree to which test scores are free from the effects of measurement error.

Question 14

Validity refers to …

Answer 14

the degree to which a test measures what it was designed to measure.

Question 15

Standardization is used to describe _____ characteristics of a test.

Answer 15

two

Question 16

First, a test is said to be standardized when …

Answer 16

“the testee’s words and acts, the apparatus, and the scoring have been fixed so the scores collected at different times and places are fully comparable” (Cronbach, 1984).

Question 17

Any deviation from standardized administration and scoring procedures may result in …

Answer 17

invalid conclusions about an examinee’s test performance.

Question 18

What is an example of deviation from standardized administration procedures?

Answer 18

the modification of test instructions

Question 19

Second, a test is referred to as standardized when it has been administered …

Answer 19

under standard conditions to a representative sample for the purpose of establishing norms.

Question 20

The greater the discrepancy between an _______________________ and the ___________________________________, the less _____________ the test will likely be for that ____________________.

Answer 20

examinee’s characteristics; characteristics of the norm group; valid; examinee

Question 21

Regarding types of scores, the scores provided by most tests can be categorized as _______________________, ____________________, or ____________________.

Answer 21

norm-referenced; criterion-referenced; self-referenced

Question 22

Norm-referenced scores …

Answer 22

permit comparisons between an examinees test performance and the performance of individuals in the norm group.

Question 23

What are two examples for norm-referenced scores?

Answer 23

percentile ranks and standard scores

Question 24

Criterion-referenced scores are also known as …

Answer 24

domain-referenced and content-referenced scores.

Question 25

Criterion-referenced scores permit …

Answer 25

interpreting an examinee’s test performance in terms of what the examinee can do or knows with regard to a clearly defined content domain or in terms of performance or status on an external criterion (e.g., predicted rating on a measure of job performance).

Question 26

For example, when a criterion-referenced test is used for the purpose of ___________ testing, an examinee’s performance is usually reported as _____________ of the test items answered _______________, and the _______________ is compared to a ___________________________________ (e.g., ___) to determine if the examinee has reached _______________ or requires _________________.

Answer 26

mastery; percent; correctly; percent; pre-established cutoff; 80% correct; mastery; additional instruction.

Question 27

Self-referenced scores are provided by …

Answer 27

ipsative scales.

Question 28

Ipsative scales permit …

Answer 28

intraindividual comparisons - i.e., comparisons of an examinee’s score on one scale with his scores on other scales.

Question 29

What is an example of a self-referenced score?

Answer 29

An examinee’s scores on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule provide information on the relative strengths of he basic psychological needs.