Assumption 1: Psychological Traits and States Exist

- Trait: any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from another
- State: distinguish one person from another but are relatively less enduring
- Based on observing a sample of behavior -> direct observation order analysis pf self-report
statements order pencil-and-paper test answers
- Psychological trait covers a wide range of possible characteristics
- How they exist?
Psychological trait exists only as a construct: informed, scientific concept developed or
constructed to described or explain behavior -> can infer their existence from overt
behavior: observable action or the product of an observable action included test- or
assessment-related responses.
Trait is not expected to be manifested in behavior 100% of the time -> manifestation of
strength of the trait in the individual + nature of the situation
Context within which behavior occurs also plays a role in helping select appropriate trait
terms for observed behavior
Trait+state -> used to refer to a way in which one individual varies from another
 Assessors make such comparisons with respect to the hypothetical average
person + comparisons among people who, because of their membership in
some group, are decidedly not average -> reference group can influence one’s
conclusions or judgements

Assumption 2: Psychological Traits and States Can Be Quantified and Measured

- Specific traits and states t be measured and quantified need to be carefully defined.
- People in general, have many ways of looking and defining the same phenomenon.
- Once having defined the trait, state, or other construct -> considers the types of item content
that would promote insight to into it -> word of possible items that can be written to gauge the
strength of that trait in testtakers.
- Weighing the comparative value of a test’s items comes about as the result of a complex of
interlay among many factors, including technical considerations the way a construct has been
defined for the purposes of the test, and the value society attaches to the behaviors evaluated.
- Test score is presumed to represent the strength of the targeted ability or trait or state and is
frequently based on cumulative scoring: the more the testtaker responds in a particular direction
as keyed by the test manual as correct or consistent with a particular trait, the higher that the
testtaker is presumed to be an the targeted ability or trait.

Assumption 3: Test-Related Behavior Predicts Non-Test-Related Behavior

- Patterns of answers to true-false questions on one widely used test of personality are used in
decision making regarding mental disorders
- Tasks in some tests mimic the actual behaviors
- Obtained sample of behavior is typically used to make predictions about future behavior +
postdict -> understanding behavior that has already taken place
Assumption 4: Tests and Other Measurement Techniques Have Strengths and Weaknesses

- Competent test users understand a great deal about the tests they use + understand and
appreciate the limitations of the tests they use as well as how those limitations might be
compensated for by data from other sources

Assumption 5: Various Sources of Error Are Part of the Assessment Process

- Error: something that is more than expected; it is actually a component of the measurement
process -> refers to a long-standing assumption that factors other than what a test attempts to
measure will influence performance on the test
- Error variance: component of a test score attributable to sources other than the trait or ability
measured
- Assessees, assessors and measuring instruments themselves are sources of error variance
- Classical or true score theory of measurement: assumption is made that each testtaker has a
true score on a test that would be obtained but for the random action of measurement error

Assumption 6: Testing and Assessment Can Be Conducted in a Fair and Unbiased Manner

- Today, all major test publishers strive to develop instruments that are fair when used in strict
accordance with guidelines in the test manual
- One source of fairness-related problems is the test user who attempts to use a particular test
with people whose background and experience are different from the background and
experience of people for whom the test as intended
- Tests are tools -> just like other tools they can be used properly or improperly

Assumption 7: Testing and Assessment Benefit Society

- Considering the many critical decisions that are based on testing and assessment procedures, we
can readily appreciate the need for tests, especially good tests

RELIABILTY

A good test or, more generally, a good measuring tool or procedure is reliable. The criterion of reliability
involves the consistency of the measuring tool: the precision with which the test measures and the
extent to which error is present in measurements. In theory, the perfectly reliable measuring tool
consistently measures in the same way. In addition to being reliable, tests must be reasonably accurate.
In the language of psychometrics, tests must be valid.

Validity

Refers to the extent to which a test measures what it purports to measure. a test of reaction time is a
valid test if it accurately measures reaction time. A test of intelligence is a valid test if it truly measures
intelligence.
Norms

Are the test performance data of a particular group of testtakers that are designed for use as a reference
when evaluating or interpreting individual test scores. As used in this definition, the “particular group of
testtakers” may be defined broadly (e.g., “a sample representative of the adult population of the United
States”) or narrowly (e.g., “female inpatients at the Bronx Community Hospital with a primary diagnosis
of depression”).

A normative sample is that group of people whose performance on a particular test is analyzed for
reference in evaluating the performance of individual testtakers

Race norming was once engaged in by some government agencies and private organizations, and the
practice resulted in the establishment of different cutoff scores for hiring by cultural group.

Types of Norms

Percentile norms - are the raw data from a test’s

standardization sample converted to percentile form. To better understand them, let’s backtrack for a
moment and review what is meant by percentiles.

Percentiles - a percentile is an expression of the percentage of people whose score on a test or measure
falls below a particular raw score.

Age norms - Also known as age-equivalent scores, age norms indicate the average performance of
different samples of testtakers who were at various ages at the time the test was administered.

Grade norms

- Designed to indicate the average test performance of testtakers in a given school grade.

- are developed by administering the test to representative samples of children over a range of
consecutive grade levels (such as first through sixth grades).

National norms

- As the name implies, national norms are derived from a normative sample that was nationally
representative of the population at the time the norming study was conducted.

- In psychology and education, national norms are determined by testing diverse groups based on
variables like age, gender, and location. School tests consider factors such as grade and school type.
Users should carefully review test manuals to understand differences between tests and their normative
samples for accurate result interpretation.
National anchor norms

- provide the tool for such a comparison. Just as an anchor provides some stability to a vessel, so
national anchor norms provide some stability to test scores by anchoring them to other test scores.

- Different tests measure human characteristics, such as reading ability, and comparisons involve
establishing informative equivalency tables based on percentile norms, acknowledging they are not
precise equalities due to technical considerations.

Subgroup norms

- A normative sample can be segmented by any of the criteria initially used in selecting subjects for the
sample. What results from such segmentation are more narrowly defined subgroup norms.

Local norms

- Typically developed by test users themselves.

- provide normative information with respect to the local population’s performance on some test.

- Local organizations use national tests but often create their own norms for tailored decision-making in
selection or counseling.