Test1 Flashcards
Don't Fail
Define Test
A measurement instrument that consists of a SAMPLE OF BEHAVIOR obtained under STANDARDIZED conditions and evaluated using established scoring rules
3 Test User Qualifications
Level A: Limited range ex: achievement/educational; No specialized training required except maybe a bachelors degree
Level B: Some specialized training req.; ex: aptitude/personality; req. masters deg. and course work on testing
Level C: Extensive training req.; ex: intelligence/projective; advanced training and doctoral degree plus licensure req.
2 Main Reasons for using Tests
- Efficiency
2. Objectivity
3 Uses of Tests
- Classification
- Research
- Diagnosis and treatment planning
5 Major Categories of Tests
- Mental Ability- cognitive functioning
- Achievement- what they know
- Personality- normal or psychopathological
- Interests, attitudes, and values- career
- Neuropsychological- CNS/Brain viewing
Major Source of Info About Tests
Published: tests in print
Unpublished: directory of unpublished mental measures
ETS Test Collection of both published and unpublished tests
2 Systematic Reviews
- Mental Measurements Yearbook
2. Test Critiques
5 Factors Affecting Responses to Assessment
- Motivation
- Anxiety
- Coaching
- Physical/Psychological Conditions
- Social Desirability
3 Levels of defining a variable
- Construct- general definition of a variable
- Measure- operational definition- often a test
- Raw Data- numbers resulting from the measure
Why do we convert raw scores to normed (z) scores?
Raw scores mean nothing! At least from z scores, they may be converted to t-scores or percentiles or whatever to make meaning of the data
Why is a normal curve important?
Everything is based on a normal curve because it is the assumed distribution- allows comparison to others
Why do we convert z-scores to standardized scores?
Z-scores are hard to interpret so we convert to get better meaning from the data compared to others
Age Norms
normal scores for a particular age
ex: normal height for a 10yo
Grade Norms
Normal scores for a particular grade
ex: typical reading level for 5th grade
National Norms
represents the entire national population- SAT/GRE or WISC-II
International Norms
Developed in the context of international studies of school achievement
Conveniency Norms
Groups from single geographic location- limited range
ex: Self-concept test based on 250 8th graders from a north east city
User Norms
based on groups who actually took the test
ex: SAT
Subgroup Norms
taken from total norm group: separate norms may be provided by sex, race, etc…
ex: Zac is in the 60th percentile nationally but 30th percentile in his group
Local Norms
scores compare nationally but also in relation to the scores of other people within the group
ex: how seniors this year compare to seniors of previous years
Difference between norm-referenced and criterion referenced
Norm-Referenced: representative sample of individuals to compare scores to each other
Criterion-Referenced: used to compare scores to a predetermined criterion/standard ex:licensure
X = T + E
From classical test theory
X= obtained score
T= True score
E= Error measurement
The consistency scores plus the score effect from inconsistency equals the obtained score
3 sources of unsystematic measurement errors
- Item selection (test content)- what questions should be included?
- Test administration- room temp, lighting, noise level
- Test Scoring- subjectivity in projective/essay tests
Reliability
consistency in measurement- NOT perfect or absolute but a matter of degree
