Test Administration Flashcards
The Relationship Between Examiner and Test Taker
behavior of the examiner and his or her relationship to the test taker can affect test scores
Ex. WISC - half under an enhanced rapport condition in which the examiner used friendly conversation and verbal reinforcement during the test administration.
The other children took the test under a neutral rapport condition in which the examiner neither initiated conversation nor used reinforcement
examiner’s rapport had little effect on the scores of the younger children
However, average IQ scores for the 5th-grade through 9th-grade students were higher for those who had received the test under the enhanced rapport condition than for those with a neutral administrator
scores obtained by examiners who made approving comments (such as “good” or “fine”) with scores obtained by examiners who used
disapproving comments or neutral
comments.
Children who took the test under a disapproving examiner received lower
scores than did children exposed to a neutral or an approving examiner
. For younger children, a familiar examiner may make a difference.
Reading scores were significantly lower
when the proctor was unfamiliar
Averaged across the studies, they found that the test performance was approximately how many SDS higher when the examiner was familiar with the test taker
0.28 standard deviation (roughly 4 IQ points) higher when the examiner was familiar
with the test taker than when not.
In those studies that involved children from lower socioeconomic classes, familiarity accounted for approximately 7.6 IQ points.
The Race of the Tester
, Sattler concluded that there is little evidence that the race of the examiner significantly affects intelligence test scores.
Sattler and Gwynne (1982) have referred to the belief that white examiners impede the test performance of African American children as a myth widely held but unsupported by scientific studies
what might be affecting instead of race?
these effects may reflect individual or cultural differences.
standardized tests require a strict administration procedure, the examiner can still communicate a hostile or a friendly atmosphere, a hurried or a relaxed manner, or an inquisitorial or a therapeutic role.
Examiner effects tend to increase when
examiners are given more discretion about
the use of the tests
one study in which a small effect of the examiner’s race was found, the examiners were paraprofessionals rather than psychologists. The white examiners obtained higher scores from white than from African American children, whereas scores for both groups of children were comparable when tested by African American examiners
There may be some biases in the way items are presented.
African American and white preschool children on the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument.
All children completed the test in two formats during two sessions that were separated by 2 weeks.
In one session, the administration was
standard; in the other, the administrators were allowed a greater use of context and
themes in explaining the test.
The African American children obtained higher test scores when the items were administered in the thematic mode. In particular, the
researchers noted a significant increase in performance on the more complex and
difficult items
Stereotype Threat
Test takers may face a double threat. First, there is personal concern about how one will be evaluated and whether they will do well on the test
For people who come from groups haunted by
negative stereotypes, there may be a second level of threat. As a member of a stereotyped group, there may be extra pressure to disconfirm inappropriate negative stereotypes.
When men and women are told
they are taking a test that captures gender differences in test performance, men score
higher than equally qualified women.
differences can be eliminated by lowering stereotype threat.
This is accomplished by describing the test as one that does not identify gender differences
Stereotype threat might have very important effects on test scores.
One review of the literature indicated that these threats may explain 50% to 80% of the difference between males and females on the SAT Math section.
Other analyses suggest that 25% to 41% of the differences in SAT performance between white non-Hispanic students and those of Hispanic heritage can be explained by stereotype threat while 17% to 29% of the SAT performance differences between white non-Hispanic and African American students can be explained by threat
African American college students tend
to get lower grades in college in comparison to white students who are equally prepared.
what belief contributes to stereotype threat
Part of the problem is the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait that is genetically determined.
, the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait has lost credibility in recent years. Some interventions designed to change mindset have been particularly helpful in addressing this problem. In one study, students were told that intelligence is malleable and adaptable to environmental circumstances.
variety of hypotheses about why stereotype threat affects performance.
stereotype threat depletes working memory
—–People who are threatened may
engage in cognitive processes that focus their attention on themselves rather than
on the test task.
====They overattend to the treat and have less attentional capacity to concentrate on the test.
====Efforts to suppress these interfering thoughts may deplete working memory
“self-handicapping.”
====Test takers, when faced with the expectation that they may not perform well, might reduce their level of effort - protect self-worth
stereotype threat causes physiological arousal. ===Arousal might facilitate performance on easy tests but can interfere with performance on more challenging assessment
Criticism of stereotype literature
criticisms of the stereotype threat literature is that most of the studies were conducted in the laboratory, not in real-life situations.
Remedies for stereotype threat
For example, it is common for the first section of a testing form to include information about age, race, and sex. For someone concerned about test performance, responding to these questions might activate concerns about how their group is perceived.
Asking a woman to indicate her sex just prior to beginning the Advanced Placement (AP) calculus test may stimulate her to think about negative stereotypes that incorrectly imply that women have low math aptitude
This threat could be avoided by simply moving the questions about age, race, and sex from the beginning of the test to the end
the questions that serve as stereotype triggers would be completed after the substantive
math questions on the test were done.
telling test takers that they are completing a nondiagnostic test can sometimes reduce
the amount of threat.
In one study, telling women that the math test they were about to take is not expected to show sex differences in performance resulted in women outperforming men in a math class
