INTRODUCTION

Item is a specific stimulus to which a person responds overtly; this response can
be scored or evaluated
Individual tests those that can be given to only one person at a time
Test administrator the person giving the test
Group test can be administered to more than one person at a time by a single
examiner
Behavior-rating scales are used to measure behavior in such places as classrooms
and hospitals
Self-reports rely on answers from people about their feelings and experiences
psychological test or educational test is a set of items that are designed
to measure characteristics of human beings that pertain to behavior.

Ability tests measure skills in terms of speed, accuracy, or both

Achievement refers to previous learning

Aptitude refers to the potential for learning or acquiring a specific
skill. Measure whether a person is likely to do well in a given field
Intelligence refers to a persons general potential to solve problems,
adapt to changing circumstances, think abstractly, and profit from
experience.

Vocational interest inventories help find interests

Human ability a term encompassed by the concepts of achievement, intelligence,
aptitude
Personality tests related to the overt and covert dispositions of the individual, for
example the tendency of a person to show a particular response in a given
situation. Personality tests measure typical behavior.

Structured personality tests provide a statement, usually of the selfreport variety, and require the subject to choose between two or more
alternative responses such as True or False
Projective personality test or unstructured either the stimulus or the
required response or both are ambiguous. (ex: Rorschach test, the
stimulus is an inkblot.). This test assumes that a persons
interpretation will reflect his/her characteristics.

Psychological testing refers to all the possible uses, applications, and underlying
concepts of psychological and educational tests. This measures individual
differences in ability and personality and tendency of a person.
Reliability refers to the accuracy dependability, consistency, or repeatability of
test results. This also refers to the degree to which test scores are free of
measurement errors.
Validity refers to the meaning and usefulness of test results. Also refers to the
degree to which certain inference or interpretation based on a test is appropriate.
Test administration the act of giving test
Interview is a method of gathering information through verbal interaction, such as
direct questions.
Han Dynasty test batteries was quite common. These are utilized to such diverse
topics as civil law, military affairs, agriculture, and revenue.
Sir Francis Galton cousin of Charles Darwin. He concentrated on demonstrating
that individual differences exist in human sensory and motor functioning.
James McKeen Cattell coined the term mental test
Wilhelm Wundt who set up a first laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879, is
credited with founding the science of psychology.
Representative sample one that comprises individuals similar to those for whom
the test is to be used.
Binet-Simon Scale determine a childs mental age.
World War I the war created a demand for large-scale group testing. This fueled
the widespread development of group test.
Traits are relatively enduring dispositions (tendencies to act, think, or feel in a
certain manner) that distinguish one individual from another.
Henry Murray and Christina Morgan developed the Thematic Apperception Test.
The TAT required the subject to make up a story about the ambiguous scene.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) began a new era for structured
personality test.
Factor analysis is a method of finding the minimum number of dimensions, called
factors, to account for a large number of variables.
Woodworth Personal Data Sheet: An early structured personality test that assumed that a test response can
be taken at face value.
The Rorschach Inkblot Test: A highly controversial projective test that provided an ambiguous stimulus

(an inkblot) and asked the subject what it might be.

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): A projective test that provided ambiguous pictures and asked subjects
to make up a story.
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): A structured personality test that made no
assumptions
about the meaning of a test response. Such meaning was to be determined by empirical research.
The California Psychological Inventory (CPI): A structured personality test developed according to the same
principles as the MMPI.
The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF): A structured personality test based on the statistical
procedure of factor analysis.

NORMS AND BASIC STATISTICS FOR TESTING

Descriptive statistics are methods used to provide a concise description of a
collection of quantitative information. (Mean, Median, Mode)
Inferential statistics are methods used to make inferences from observations of a
small group of people known as a sample to a larger group known as population (ttest, ANOVA, Correlational analysis)
Magnitude the property of moreness.
Equal intervals scale has the property of equal intervals if the difference between
two points at any place on the scale has the same meaning as the difference
between two other points that differ by the same number of scale units
Absolute 0 is obtained when nothing of the property being measured exists. (ex: 0
heart rate of a dead person)
Types of Scales

Nominal scales are really not scales at all. Their purposes is to name objects
nd labels. Ex: color, sex, name
Ordinal scale this scales allows you to rank individuals or objects but not to
say anything about the meaning of the differences between the ranks. Ex:
rank, satisfaction, fanciness
Interval scale when a scale has the properties of magnitude and equal
intervals but not absolute 0.
Ratio scale scale that has magnitude, equal intervals, and absolute 0.

Frequency distribution displays scores on a variable or measure to reflect how

frequently each value was obtained.
Percentile rank answers the question what percent of the scores fall below a
particular score?
Percentile are the specific scores or points within a distribution.
Mean the arithmetic average score in a distribution. We total the scores and divide
the sum by the number of cases
Standard Deviation is an approximation of the average deviation around the
mean.
Variance the average squared deviation around the mean
Quartile points that divide the frequency distribution into equal fourths

Stanine system developed in the US Air Force. This system converts any set of
score into a scale, which ranges from1 to 9. standard nine.
Norms refer to the performances by defined groups on particular tests.
Norm-referenced test compares each person with a norm
Criterion-referenced test describes the specific type of skills, tasks, or knowledge
that the test taker can demonstrate such as mathematical skills.

CORRELATION AND REGRESSION

Scatter diagram is a picture of the relationship between two variables
Correlation coefficient is a mathematical index that describes the direction and
magnitude of a relationship

Positive correlation means that high scores on Y are associated with high
scores on X nad low scores on Y correspond to low scores on X.
Negative correlation higher scores on Y are associated with lower scores on
X and lower scores on Y are associated with higher scores on X. The higher
the drug dose, the less active the patients are.

Regression is used to make predictions about scores on one variable from

knowledge of scores on another variable.
Regression line the best-fitting straight line through a set of points in a scatter
diagram
Spearmans Rho is a method of correlation for finding the association between two
sets of ranks
Biserial correlation expresses the relationship between a continuous variable and
an artificial dichotomous variable
Residual the difference between the predicted and the observed values
standard error of estimate the standard deviation of the residuals

Quantitative Research

Descriptive studies the aim is to understand what is in a specific situation

with an identified population.
Correlational research examines the extent to which two or more variables
relate to one another. Does not make statement on the cause of effect.
Group Comparison
o Casual comparative examines the possible cause and effect
relationship between variables
o Experimental

 True experimental design -