Chapter 1
Psychological Testing and
Assessment
Twelve Assumptions in Psychological
Testing and Assessment
• Assumption 1: Psychological traits and states exist
– Observed (manifest) vs. latent
– Can you study something invisible?
– Logical positivism, Behaviorism
• Assumption 2: Psychological traits and states can be
quantified and measured
– Can you really assign a numeric value to everything?
– Rasch: objective measurement
• Assumption 3: Various approaches to measuring aspects of
the same thing can be useful (Methodology Triangulation)
Twelve Assumptions in Psychological
Testing and Assessment
• Assumption 4: Assessment can
provide answers to some of life’s
most momentous questions
– Tracking (in the UK system)
– screening and placement
• Assumption 5: Assessment can
pinpoint phenomena that require
further attention or study
– National (?) assessment: No Child Left
behind (The objective of assessment is…)
– International assessment: PISA, TIMSS
What is PISA? Not these
• PISA: Program for International Student
Assessment is a series of assessments on
reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and
science literacy, sponsored by Organization
for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), and administered
internationally to 15-year-olds
• TIMSS: The Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
is administered every four years
internationally to both fourth and eighth
grade students.
Source: OECD/PISA and Wikipedia
Source: TIMSS and Wikipedia
Obama's "Sputnik Moment"
• In 1957 the USSR launched the first
artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. In order
to fill the technological gap, the US
government awarded financial support to
promote math and science education.
• In response to the performance gap
between the US students and
Asian/European students, President
Obama introduced the phrase "Sputnik
moment" to argue for more investment
in science, technology, engineering, and
technology (STEM) education.
Twelve Assumptions in
Psychological Testing and
Assessment (Cont’d)
• Assumption 6: Various sources of data
enrich and are part of the assessment
process (Data triangulation)
• Assumption 7: Various sources of error are
part of the assessment process
Error is everywhere!
• Sources of error
– Measurement error
– Sampling error
• Types of error
– Bias: Systematic e.g.
self-report height and
weight
– Variance: Random
Twelve Assumptions in
Psychological Testing and
Assessment (Cont’d)
• Assumption 8: Tests and other measurement
techniques have strengths and weaknesses
– Classical test theory
– Item response theory
– Rasch model
Twelve Assumptions
• Assumption 9: Test-related behavior predicts non–
test-related behavior
• Assumption 10: Present-day behavior sampling
predicts future behavior
– Academically adrift: Limited learning on college
campuses -- After 4 years, 36% college graduates
showed no gains in higher order thinking skills. US
corporations complain that college graduates don’t have
the critical thinking skill required by the jobs.
– Corporations launch their own assessment programs
e.g. MCSE, CCNA.
Examples of industry
certification/assessment program
Twelve Assumptions in
Psychological Testing and
Assessment (Cont’d)
• Assumption 11: Testing and assessment can
be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner
• Assumption 12: Testing and assessment
benefit society
Who, What and Why?
• Who Are the Parties?
–
–
–
–
The test developer
The test user
The test taker
Society at large
The test developer
• Subject matter expert/content expert: item
authoring
• Psychometrician: item analysis, factor
analysis
• Database programmer/IT personnel: item
banking
• Program manager: put all together
Evaluating the Quality of Tests
• What is a “Good” Test?
– Reliability
– Validity
– Other settings
• Reference Sources for Test Information
–
–
–
–
–
Test catalogues
Test manuals
Journal articles
Online and CD-Rom databases
Other sources
• http://www.creativewisdom.com/pub/efficacy.pdf
Exercise (2 points)
• Form a group consisting of 3-4 people. One or two
must have a Web-enabled laptop.
• Access the APU library
• Look for Mental Measurements Yearbook (the
electronic version)
• Search for instruments that measure psychological
constructs (e.g. anxiety, depression, happiness…etc)
• Read the comments at the end
• Discuss which one is the best.