Chapter 4: Of Tests and Testing Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key assumptions of psychological assessment, psychometric concepts like reliability and validity, and various types of norms and sampling procedures described in Chapter 4.

Trait

Defined by Guilford ($1959$) as any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from another.

States

Characteristics that distinguish one person from another but are relatively less enduring than traits.

Construct

An informed, scientific concept developed or constructed to describe or explain behavior; they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

Overt behavior

An observable action or the product of an observable action, including test- or assessment-related responses.

Cumulative scoring

A scoring method where the magnitude of a trait is assumed to correspond to the sum of keyed responses (e.g., correct = $1$ and incorrect = $0$).

Postdict

The use of psychological tests to aid in the understanding of behavior that has already taken place, often in forensic matters.

Error

A component of the measurement process referring to the assumption that factors other than what a test attempts to measure will influence performance.

Error variance

The component of a test score attributable to sources other than the trait or ability measured.

Reliability

The consistency of a measuring tool; specifically the precision with which the test measures and the extent to which error is present.

Validity

The extent to which a test truly measures what it purports to measure for a particular purpose.

Interrater reliability

The degree to which different respondents give similar evaluations of a behavior or trait.

Norms

The test performance data of a particular group of testtakers designed for use as a reference when evaluating or interpreting individual test scores.

Norm-referenced testing and assessment

A method of evaluation and a way of deriving meaning from test scores by comparing an individual testtaker's score to scores of a group of testtakers.

Normative sample

The specific group of people whose performance on a particular test is analyzed for reference in evaluating the performance of individual testtakers.

Race norming

The controversial practice of norming on the basis of race or ethnic background, outlawed by the Civil Rights Act of $1991$.

User norms (Program norms)

Descriptive statistics based on a group of testtakers in a given period of time rather than norms obtained by formal sampling methods.

Standardization (Test standardization)

The process of administering a test to a representative sample of testtakers for the purpose of establishing norms, involving replicable procedures for administration and scoring.

Standardized test

A test that has clearly specified procedures for administration, scoring, and interpretation, in addition to normative data.

Standard error of measurement

A statistic used to estimate the extent to which an observed score deviates from a true score.

Standard error of estimate

In regression, an estimate of the degree of error involved in predicting the value of one variable from another.

Standard error of the mean

A measure used to quantify sampling error.

Standard error of the difference

A statistic used to estimate how large a difference between two scores should be before the difference is considered statistically significant.

Population

The complete universe or set of individuals with at least one common, observable characteristic.

Sample

A portion of the universe of people deemed to be representative of the whole population.

Stratified sampling

A sampling method that proportionately represents different subgroups (strata) of the population, such as race, gender, or socioeconomic class.

Stratified-random sampling

A sampling procedure where members of a population are selected randomly within their specific strata, giving every member the same chance of inclusion.

Purposive sample

A sample arbitrarily selected because it is believed to be representative of the population (e.g., testing a product in Cleveland as a national proxy).

Incidental sample (Convenience sample)

A sample that is convenient or available for use, though not necessarily the most appropriate for generalization.

Percentile

An expression of the percentage of people whose score on a test or measure falls below a particular raw score.

Percentage correct

A distribution of raw scores representing the number of items answered correctly multiplied by $100$ and divided by the total number of items.

Age norms (Age-equivalent scores)

The average performance of different samples of testtakers who were at various ages at the time the test was administered.

Grade norms

Norms designed to indicate the average test performance of testtakers in a given school grade, often expressed as a decimal (e.g., $6.4$).

Developmental norms

A broad term for norms developed on the basis of traits or characteristics affected by chronological age, school grade, or stage of life.

National norms

Derived from a normative sample that was nationally representative of the population at the time the norming study was conducted.

National anchor norms

Equivalency tables for scores on two different tests, typically established using the equipercentile method on the same sample.

Equipercentile method

A process of calculating the equivalency of scores on different tests with reference to corresponding percentile scores.

Subgroup norms

Normative information segmented by the specific criteria initially used in selecting subjects, such as region, age, or socioeconomic level.

Local norms

Normative information developed by test users themselves with respect to a local population's performance.

Fixed reference group scoring system

A system where the score distribution of a specific group is used as the basis for calculating scores for all future administrations (e.g., the SAT).

Criterion

A standard on which a judgment or decision may be based.

Criterion-referenced testing and assessment

A method of evaluation and deriving meaning from test scores by evaluating an individual's score with reference to a set standard.

Mastery tests

Another name for criterion-referenced tests, frequently used to gauge achievement or level of learning.