PSYC 3380 - Psychological Testing Notes

PSYC 3380 - Psychological Testing

Week 8b - Chapter 10

AGENDA
  • Wrapping up Intelligence Testing
  • Assessment for Education
  • Measure Workshop (if not today, then next week)
DOWNWARD EXTENSIONS: The WISC-V and the WPPSI-IV
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V)
  • Age Range: Approximately 6 to 16 years
  • Original Development: 1949
  • Revision History: Revised in 1974, 1991, 2003, and 2014, now in its fifth edition (WISC-V)
  • Significance: Represents the best of psychological testing
    • Improvements in standardization, reliability, and validity over previous versions
    • Follows the model of WAIS-IV (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition)
    • Still employs pattern analysis and comparison of index scores, methodologies questioned
    • Extensive validity studies conducted with various special groups
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV)
  • Age Range: Approximately 2.5 years to 7 years and 7 months
  • Original Development: 1967
  • Revision History: Revised in 1989, 2003, and 2012, now in its fourth edition (WPPSI-IV)
  • Significance: Extended the age of testability from previous versions
    • More flexible, tailored to the specific individual being tested
    • Maintains the same hierarchical structure as WISC-V
    • Compatible with measures of adaptive functioning for diagnostic purposes
    • Demonstrated strong psychometric properties in research
FLYNN EFFECT
  • Definition: The progressive rise in intelligence test scores over time on normed tests since their initial standardization.
  • Factors Influencing the Flynn Effect:
    • Cultural specificity of the test items
    • Type of intelligence measured (fluid vs. crystallized intelligence)
FINAL TAKEAWAY
  • Intelligence tests face challenges, such as bias, but are often useful.
  • Wechsler Scales are typically considered the best option.
ASSESSMENT FOR EDUCATION
Testing Learning Disabilities
  • Crucial area in education due to the need for tailored support
  • Legal Framework: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 amendments change service provision.
    • Shift from "discrepancy model" (needing to show a significant lag behind peers) to a more proactive approach.
  • Signs of Learning Disabilities include:
    • Disorganization, careless effort, and forgetfulness
    • Refusal to complete schoolwork or homework
    • Slow performance, poor attention, and moodiness
Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
  • Definition: A disorder affecting one or more basic psychological processes related to understanding or using language, manifesting as difficulties in listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or mathematical calculations.
Response to Intervention (RTI)
  • Multilevel prevention framework aimed at maximizing student achievement
  • Identification of at-risk students using data
  • Emphasizes evidence-based interventions and teaching methods
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - Vygotsky (1978)
  • Emphasizes the dynamic nature of assessment: the test-intervention-retest model.
    • The examiner provides assistance in the initial test phase (not purely neutral) to support re-evaluation.
  • Concept highlights the potential for cognitive growth through guided assistance.
ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
  • Purpose: Assess accomplishments in relation to instructional objectives.
    • Gauge student progress against peers.
    • Help determine appropriate activities for further progress.
  • Types:
    • Nationally, regionally, or locally standardized tests, as well as non-standardized assessments.
General vs. Specific Achievement Tests
  • General Achievement Tests: Measure proficiency in one or more academic areas (e.g., comprehensive test batteries).
  • Specific Achievement Tests: May be teacher-designed and target standardized basic skills (e.g., reading, mathematics), or end-of-degree assessments.
Testing for Learning Disabilities
Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA-3)
  • Age Range: 5 to 12 years
  • Based on Information Processing Model:
    • Assumes learning disabilities can occur at various stages.
  • Consists of 12 subtests addressing visual, auditory, or tactile inputs.
  • Produces three composite scores for General language, Spoken language, and Written language.
Woodcock-Johnson IV
  • Age Range: 2 to 90 years
  • Assesses:
    • General intellectual ability (g)
    • Specific cognitive abilities
    • Scholastic aptitude
    • Oral language
    • Academic achievement
  • Last Revised: 2014, next anticipated revision in March 2025.
  • Structure: Three independent but coordinated test batteries, co-normed to facilitate comparison of cognitive abilities to achievement while identifying learning disabilities.
  • Noteworthy psychometric properties, though the field of learning disabilities testing is still developing.
Benton Visual Retention Test – Fifth Edition (BVRT-V)
  • Purpose: Tests visual memory ability, particularly in individuals with traumatic brain injury.
  • Assumes that brain injury negatively affects visual memory capabilities.
  • Suitable for ages 8 and older; involves the reproduction of visual images.
Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BVMGT)
  • Similar to the BVRT-V but requires no memory reproduction.
  • Developmental norms are specific for children aged 5 to 8 years.
  • Identification of deficits indicated if errors are made by individuals aged 9 or older; useful for spotting traumatic brain injuries.
Creativity/Giftedness: Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)
  • Defining Creativity: The ability to originate thoughts, combine factors innovatively, and establish new relationships between facts.
  • Designed in 1966, updated in 2017.
  • Measures:
    • Fluency
    • Originality
    • Flexibility in problem-solving (e.g., generating multiple solutions to a question).
  • Drawbacks: While popular, TTCT scores are generally inferior to Wechsler and Binet tests in terms of standardization; reliability and validity estimates are varied.
  • Based on a two-factor model (innovative vs. adaptive) and shows a declining trend in creativity within society over time.
Achievement Testing
Individual Achievement Tests: Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT-4)
  • Age Range: 5 years and older
  • Focus: Measures information acquired rather than cognitive ability or potential for learning.
    • Results can differ from IQ scores due to various influencing factors.
  • Components: Word reading, spelling, math computation, and sentence comprehension.
    • Known for its ease of administration and popularity, though some assessment points may be inaccurate.
Group Achievement Tests
  • Stanford Achievement Test (10th edition)
    • Oldest standardized achievement test.
    • Widely used in K-12 educational settings, assesses various subjects (e.g., spelling, reading, science, math).
  • Metropolitan Achievement Test (8th edition)
    • Focuses on reading achievement, mathematics, and social studies.
    • Available in formats including Braille and large print.
APTITUDE TESTING
Graduate and Professional School Entrance Tests
Discussion Points
  • Queries about prospective post-graduation paths (graduate school vs. workforce)
  • Anticipation of entrance exams or job placement exams
  • Preparedness assessment for upcoming exams
Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
  • Purpose: Commonly used test for graduate school admission
  • Updates: Major revisions occurred in 2011 and 2023; previous adjustments had been slower.
  • Components:
    • Verbal and quantitative sections (scores range from 260 to 340)
    • Analytical writing (scored from 0 to 6)
  • Psychometric evaluations are adequate yet less impressive compared to SAT.
GRE Performance Correlations
  • Moderate correlation between GRE scores and undergraduate GPA in some studies, with some showing negative correlations.
  • The test is not significant for predicting success across all demographics.
  • Overprediction for younger demographics; underprediction for older applicants is noted.
  • Limitations: GRE may be more informative when considered alongside other application components, rather than in isolation.
GRE Example Question
  • Early of hearing loss is by the ability of other senses to compensate for moderate loss, so that individuals often remain unaware of their hearing impairments.
    Options: (A) discovery…indicated (B) development…prevented (C) detection…complicated (D) treatment…facilitated (E) incidence…corrected
Miller Analogies Test
  • Assess scholastic aptitude in a fully verbal format by deducing escalating logical relationships.
  • Correlation with GRE, though predictive validity remains unimpressive.
  • Variable prediction accuracy across age groups, notably high overprediction for age 45.
  • Considerations around bias in graduate-school applications.
Miller Analogies Test Example
  • Light : Dark corresponds to ? (a) picnic (b) day (c) pain (d) night
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
  • A standardized test for law program admissions, characterized by time constraints (35 mins).
  • Problem Types: Reading comprehension, logical reasoning, analytical reasoning.
  • Law schools indicate the weight of LSAT scores in their admission processes.
  • Stability over time with minimal changes; previous tests become public after a period.
  • Contains inherent issues of bias.
MEASURE WORKSHOP
NEXT CLASS
  • Discussion of Chapters 11 & 12