Psychometrics Chapters 4-6

Chapter 4 - If 10 students arrange themselves from shortest to tallest, and we assign the shortest a score of 1 and the tallest a score of 10, what level of measurement would we be using?

Ordinal scale

Chapter 4 - Most psychological tests produce which level of measurement?

Ordinal and interval

Chapter 4 - Which one of the following provides us with a visual representation of distribution scores?

Frequency distributions

Chapter 4 - What would you calculate to find out more about the middle of a distribution of scores?

Measures of central tendency

Chapter 4 - What would you calculate if you wanted to find out whether individuals who took a test performed similarly to or differently from one another?

Measures of variation

Chapter 4 - What would be the most accurate index or indices when a distribution of scores has outliers?

Mode and median

Chapter 4 - The correlation between two distributions of scores can range from

−1.0 to +1.0

Chapter 4 - Which one of the following correlation coefficients would you most likely see if students’ performance on a midterm exam was inversely related to their performance on a final exam?

−0.6

Chapter 4 - What type of distribution is skewed to the left, has one high point, and has many high scores?

Negatively skewed distribution

Chapter 4 - In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of test scores will fall between 2 and 3 standard deviations above the mean?

2.1%

Chapter 4 - In a normal distribution, approximately what percentage of test scores will fall between one standard deviation below the mean and one standard deviation above the mean?

68%

Chapter 4 - Which one of the following standard scores always has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10?

T scores

Chapter 4 - If your score on a test is calculated to be equivalent to a percentile rank of 80, which one of the following is TRUE?

You scored equal to or better than 80% of the norm group.

Chapter 4 - If the mean of a distribution of test scores is 70, and the standard deviation is 5, what would John’s z score be if he scored an 80?

2

Chapter 4 - Which one of the following is FALSE about the use of norms?

There is one right population that is regarded as the normative group.

Chapter 5 - When we talk about how each inch on a yardstick is the same length, we are talking about the yardstick’s

internal consistency.

Chapter 5 - Which one of the following methods do we use to examine the performance of a test over time and provide an estimate of a test’s stability?

Test–retest reliability

Chapter 5 - Marsha, a student teacher, wanted to check the reliability of a math test that she developed for her fourth graders. She gave the test to students on Monday morning and then again on Tuesday morning. On the first administration of her test, there was a wide variety of scores, but on the second administration, nearly all of the children made A’s on the test. Marsha wondered, “Why did all the students make A’s on Tuesday, but not on Monday?” Which one of the following would most likely account for this outcome?

Practice effects

Chapter 5 - Researchers administered the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) to two samples of individuals. First, they administered the PAI twice to 75 adults, with the second administration following the first by an average of 24 days. They also administered the PAI to 80 college students who took the test twice, with an interval of 28 days. In each case, the researchers were conducting studies to measure the PAI’s

test–retest reliability.

Chapter 5 - Jon developed a math test for fourth graders, but he was not able to administer the test twice. What method can Jon use to estimate the reliability/precision of the math test?

Internal consistency

Chapter 5 - When using the split-half method, an adjustment must be made to compensate for splitting the test into halves. Which one of the following would we use to make this adjustment?

Spearman–Brown formula

Chapter 5 - Which one of the following is the appropriate method for estimating reliability for tests with homogeneous questions that have more than two possible responses?

Coefficient alpha

Chapter 5 - While ________ describes the degree to which questions on a test or subscale are interrelated, ________ refers to whether the questions measure the same trait or dimension.

coefficient alpha; homogeneity

Chapter 5 - Researchers conducted two studies on the reliability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) using adult psychiatric inpatients. In these studies, more than one person scored the WCST independently. What kind of reliability/precision were the researchers interested in establishing?

Scorer reliability

Chapter 5 - Katie and Kathy are roommates who share the same bathroom scale. Neither Katie nor Kathy is on a special diet to lose or gain weight. Each morning, they both weigh themselves. From day to day, it seems that each gains or loses 2 to 3 pounds. Some days Katie gains 3 pounds, and Kathy loses 2 pounds. Other days Katie loses 2 pounds and Kathy gains 3 pounds. Every day their weights are different from their weights the previous day, and they cannot distinguish a pattern. Katie and Kathy decide to start weighing themselves on a scale at the wellness center. To their surprise, they neither gain nor lose weight from time to time when using the scale at the wellness center. Which one of the following best explains this situation?

Their home scale has random error, and the wellness center scale is more accurate.

Chapter 5 - Which one of the following formulas do test developers who wish to increase the reliability of a test use to estimate how many homogeneous test questions should be added to a test to raise its reliability to the desired level?

Spearman–Brown

Chapter 5 - Which one of the following is important for both interpreting individual test scores and calculating confidence intervals?

Standard error of measurement

Chapter 5 - When test reliability is high, the standard error of measurement is _______. As test reliability decreases, the standard error of measurement _________.

low; increases

Chapter 5 - As a rule, adding more questions that measure the same trait or attribute can _______ a test’s reliability.

increase

Chapter 5 - What makes generalizability theory different from classical test theory?

Generalizability theory focuses on identifying systematic and random error.

Chapter 5 - Which one of the following is associated with generalizability theory?

Analysis of variance

Chapter 5 - Who is the most likely to apply generalizability theory?

Test developer

Chapter 5 - ______ is a characteristic of the test itself; ______

Reliability; validity

Chapter 6 - A valid test

allows one to make correct inferences about the meaning of the scores.

Chapter 6 - The current Standards (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014) include discussion of five sources of evidence of validity. Which of the following is one of those sources?

Test content

Chapter 6 - Which one of the following is NOT considered a traditional type of validity?

Alternate forms

Chapter 6 - Demonstrating evidence of validity is often logical rather than statistical for which one of the following?

Face validity and validity evidence based on a test’s content

Chapter 6 - If we demonstrate that a test allows us to identify individuals who are likely to become depressed, we have demonstrated evidence of validity based on the test’s

relationship with a criterion.

Chapter 6 - What type of evidence of validity exists if you took an algebra test that required you to perform a representative sample of algebraic calculations?

Validity based on its content

Chapter 6 - What type of evidence of validity exists if a test developer finds that scores on a new employment test, designed to predict success on the job, correlate with employees’ performance appraisal ratings?

Validity based on the test’s relationship with a criterion

Chapter 6 - What type of attribute does a test measures if the attribute can be described in terms of specific behaviors?

Concrete

Chapter 6 - Which one of the following types of attribute is most difficult to describe in terms of behaviors?

Abstract

Chapter 6 - Evidence of validity based on a test’s content is easiest for tests such as mathematical achievement tests that measure _______ attributes and more difficult for tests such as personality tests that measure _______ attributes.

concrete; abstract

Chapter 6 - If test takers perceive a test as appropriate, they are referencing evidence of what?

Face validity

Chapter 6 - What evidence exists for a writing test that requires a test taker to perform a representative sample of writing activities (for example, writing a poem, writing an essay, writing a term paper)?

Validity based on the test’s content

Chapter 6 - What is the first step to ensuring that a test demonstrates evidence of validity based on its content?

Define the testing universe

Chapter 6 - The content validity ratio for a test item can range from what to what?

−1.00 to 1.00

Kahoot - On all normally distributed curves, the mean, median, and mode are the same

True

Kahoot - What is the median of the following group of numbers: 4, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14?

8.5

Kahoot - What is the range of the following group of scores: 4, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14

10

Kahoot - Measures of central tendency tell you something about the middle of a series of #s but little about the variability

True

Kahoot - Class average is 0.5 SD above nat'l mean of 85; passing is 1 SD below the mean, so likely many failed

False

Kahoot - Defining characteristics of psychological tests

Include behavior samples obtained under standardized conditions, Representatively sample behaviors thought to measure an attribute, & Have good rules for scoring

Kahoot - Army Beta test was used with those unable to read, write, or speak English

True

Kahoot - In order to estimate the percentile rank for any given z score, we have to assume the distribution of scores is normal

True

Kahoot - Classical Test theory can be modeled as

Obtained score = True score + Error

Kahoot - A reliable test measures what we said it would measure

False

Kahoot - There is a set standard for the number of days that should be between a test and retest

False

Kahoot - Generalizability theory

separates systematic error from random error to eliminate systematic error

Kahoot - To correct for decreasing test length using split-half reliability

Use Spearman-Brown

Kahoot - Cohen's kappa is used for

interrater reliability

Kahoot - Correlations can range from -1 to +1 but reliability coefficients range from 0 to 1, even though they're correlations

True

Kahoot - Psychologists have not set a fixed value at which reliability can be interpreted as satisfactory or not

True

Kahoot - Diana gives a test with a 5-point Likert scale: never, sometimes, often, almost always. This is a

Ordinal Scale

Kahoot - Linear transformations include all but the following

Percentile Rank

Kahoot - Approximately 84% of people perform higher than 1 SD below the mean

True

Kahoot - If John has scored 53 on a test, we can say all of the following EXCEPT

He likely has done poorly

Kahoot - On a negatively skewed curve, which is true?

the mean is lower than the median which is lower than the mode