Future of Testing Flashcards
Professional Issues
Theoretical Concerns
One of the most important considerations underlying tests is the dependability (reliability) of test results
Reliability places an upper limit on validity. A test that is totally unreliable (unstable) has no meaning
Most existing tests measure a presumably stable entity—either the individual as he or she currently functions or some temporally stable characteristic of the individual.
imply that the person functions this way in a fairly stable, though perhaps short-term, manner that is independent of the situation or environment.- assume that they can describe
the person in absolute terms, as if in a vacuum
psychologists purport to measure enduring qualities that will manifest themselves over time regardless of immediate or long-term external (situational, environmental, etc.) factors
testers always assume that the systematic source of variance measured by the test results entirely from the person rather than some other factor
perhaps the single most important theoretical assumption of tests
that human characteristics are stable and can be measured independently of the environment—is debatable
although people exhibit a core of stability,
they continually change.
Certainly, one explanation for the relatively poor long-term reliability of personality tests is that as the individual adjusts to the environment, he or she changes.
Indeed, most definitions of intelligence include the ability to adapt or change according to circumstances. The fact is, people change all the time.
Professional Issues
The Adequacy of Tests
Thus far, however, we have evaluated tests relative to traditionally accepted psychometric standards rather than absolute external criteria.
Shakow, who is to many the father of modern clinical psychology, posited that we have not quite reached our goal of providing objective and psychometrically sound assessment of
personality and psychological function
. No test at all is better than a test that often leads to an incorrect conclusion. In the end, how tests are used may be determined by law or by the threat of litigation.
Tests that lead to selection biases are suspect. If an aptitude test consistently under select African Americans, Latinos, and Latinas for college, then we have to ask how accurate these tests are, how much they add to prediction, and whether loss of diversity is justified by increased prediction
is this an appropriate use for the test -
Professional Issues
Actuarial Versus Clinical Prediction
third issue concerns the accuracy of predictions made by test users
argued that tests provide a standard setting in which practitioners can observe behavior. they can use this situation in conjunction with experience and local norms to gain accuracy in their observations and decisions
However, test users rarely, if ever, receive feedback on the accuracy of their predictions
and decisions based on tests. Do tests, then, truly enhance assessment, or are practitioners fooling themselves, repeating their errors, and teaching them to students?
Is the AI doing a better job that people - in many cases yes
Moral Issues
Human Rights
the right not to be tested
Individuals who do not want to subject themselves to testing should not, and ethically cannot, be forced to do so. Nevertheless, exceptions to this directive are noted in the 2010 APA guidelines
informed consent to testing is not required when “testing is mandated by law or government,” when “informed consent is implied because testing is conducted as a routine educational, institutional, or organizational activity,” or when “the purpose of the testing is to evaluate decisional capacity
Another right due test takers is their right to know their test scores and interpretations as well as the bases of any decisions that affect their lives. selection bias, then this bias should be openly identified and not hidden by deceptive or misleading advertising
Moral Issues
Labelling
labeling people with certain medical diseases, such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and psychiatric disorders can be extremely damaging. a implies that a person is ill or diseased.
Labels may also affect one’s access to help. Chronic schizophrenia, for example, has no cure - may be a self-fulfilling prophecy
Individuals who feel a sense of control or responsibility for themselves should be able to tolerate more stress, frustration, and pain than do those who feel like passive victims (Sherrer, 2011). Certainly, a person who feels responsible or in control has more incentive to alter
negative conditions than one who does not.
gative conditions than one who does not.
Labels that imply a person is not responsible may increase the risk that the person so labeled will feel passive. Thus, the labeling process may not only stigmatize the person but also lower tolerance for stress and make treatment more difficult
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