Psych Assessment Name

Unit 4: Test and Testing Section Title

Assumptions: Notetaking Column

1. Psychological Traits 1. Traits (ugali) – relatively enduring way in which the individual
and States Exist varies from one another. (ex. Extraversion)
States (feelings or moods) – also distinguishes one person from
another but is less enduring. (ex. mood/feelings)

2. Psychological Traits 2. The specific traits and states to be measured and quantified
and States Can Be need to be carefully defined.
Quantified and Ex. Aggression – understanding how it is defined by the test
Measured developed

3. Test-Related Behavior 3. Such a test yields only a sample of the behavior that can be
Predicts Non-Test- expected to be emitted under non-test conditions. The obtained
Related Behavior sample of the behavior is typically used to make predictions
about future behavior, such as work performance of a job
applicant
4. Test and Other
4. How a test was developed, the circumstances under which it is
Measurement
appropriate to administer the test, how the test should be
Techniques Have administered and to whom, and how the test results should be
Strengths and interpreted. TEST’S LIMITATIONS.
Weaknesses

5. Various Sources of
Error are Part of the 5. Error Variance – assumption that factors other than a what a test
Assessment Process attempts to measure will influence performance on the test.
Sources of error variance:
a. Way of test administration
b. External factors (time and place of test)
c. Internal factors (test takers)
6. Testing and
Assessment Can Be 6. Develop instrument that are fair when used in strict accordance
Conducted in a Fair with the guidelines in test manual (Standardization of Procedures
and Unbiased Manner or SOP)
(Standardization)

7. Testing and
Assessment Benefit 7. Great need for instruments to diagnose educational difficulties or
Society Neuropsychological impairments

What makes a “Good Test”?

1. Reliability 1. Consistency of the test; the precision with which the test
measures and the extent to which error is present in
measurements
2. Validity
2. Measure what it purports to measure (accuracy of the test).
 3. Other Considerations
3. A good test is one that contains adequate norms
Norms - a method of evaluation and a way of deriving meaning
from test scored by evaluating an individual test taker’s score
and comparing it to scores of a group test taker
- Norms are created to make the tests standardized.

Types of Norms:
1. Percentile - It is an expression of the percentage of people
whose score on a test or measure falls below a particular raw
score
Ex. 15%tile – person’s score is equal to or higher than the
15% who took the test
2. Age Norms - Indicate the average age performance of
different samples of test takers who were at the various ages
at the time the test was administered.
3. Grade Norms - Designed to indicate the average
performance of test takers in a given school grade
4. National Norms - Derived from a normative sample that was
nationally representative of the population at the same time
the norming study was conducted
5. National Anchor Norms - provide stability to test scores by
anchoring them to other test cores
6. Subgroup Norms - Age, educational level, socioeconomic
level, geographic region, community type and handedness
7. Local Norms - provide normative information with respect to
the local population’s performance on some test

Fixed Reference Group  the basis for the calculation of test scores for future
Scoring Systems administrations of the test

a. Norm-referenced Test - a usual area of focus is how an individual performed relative

(NrT) to other people who took the test
- ex. Standardized aptitude tests, teacher-made survey,
highest score among all the students

b. Criterion-referenced - are frequently used to gauge achievement or mastery, they

Test (CrT) are sometimes referred to as mastery tests
- as a method of evaluation and a way of deriving meaning
from tests scores by evaluating an individual’ score with
reference to a set standard
- ex. Passing score, end of unit test

Correlation

Correlation and Interference - Is a number that provides us with an index of the strength of
the relationship between two things (a value that helps us
understand how closely related two variables are.)
 Concept of Correlation

Direction of Relationship:

a. Positive Correlation a. When one variable increases, the other variable also increases.
(correlation coefficient close to +1)
For example, height and weight often have a positive correlation
—taller people tend to weigh more.

b. Negative Correlation b. When one variable increases, the other variable decreases.
(correlation coefficient close to -1)
For example, the number of hours spent watching TV and
academic performance might have a negative correlation—more
TV time might be associated with lower grades.

c. 0 Correlation c. absolutely no relationship exists between the two variables

Types of Correlation:

1. Spearman Rho - Used when the data is ordinal or not linearly related. It
measures the strength and direction of the monotonic
relationship between two variables.
- Sample size is small

2. Pearson Correlation - Measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship

between two continuous variables.

Graphic Representations of
Correlation

 Scatterplot - simple graphing of the coordinate points for values of the X-

variable
- they provide quick indication of the direction and magnitude
of the relationship, if any, between the two variables

How it Shows Correlation:

 Positive Correlation: Points trend upwards from left to right.
 Negative Correlation: Points trend downwards from left to
right.
 No Correlation: Points are scattered randomly without any
discernible pattern.

Outliers - simply the result of the administering a test to a very small

sample of test takers
- a data point that differs significantly from other observations
in a dataset.
- can provide a hint of some deficiency in the testing or scoring
procedures
 Regression - the analysis of relationships among variables for the purpose
of understanding how one variable may predict another
- It helps to understand how the outcome variable (the
dependent variable) changes in response to changes in one
or more predictor variables (independent variables)

Multiple Regression - is an extension of linear regression that involves predicting

the value of a dependent variable based on two or more
independent variables.
- if many predictors are used and if one is not correlated with
any of the other predictors but is correlated with the predicted
score, then that predictor may be given relatively more weight
because it is providing unique information

Interference and
Measurement

Interference - refers to any factor or condition that affects the accuracy or

validity of measurements, observations, or results.

Measurement - involves the process of quantifying variables or phenomena

using specific tools, methods, and units.

Meta analysis - a statistical technique used to combine and analyze data

from multiple studies on the same topic to derive a more
comprehensive and reliable conclusion.

Culture and Interference - In interpreting data from psychological tests, it is frequently

helpful to know about the culture of the test taker, including
something about the era or “times” that the test taker
experienced

Understanding and addressing cultural interference is crucial for

ensuring that research is valid, reliable, and ethically conducted. By
acknowledging and accounting for cultural factors, researchers can
improve the accuracy of their findings and ensure that their research is
respectful and inclusive of diverse perspectives.