-A good test or, more generally, a good measuring tool or procedure is reliable.

-The criterion of reliability involves the consistency of the measuring tools or test that help us to trust.

-It produces similar results when its repeatedly.

-In addition to being reliable,

tests must be reasonably accurate. In the language of psychometrics, tests must be valid.

-We say that anything is valid when it is sound, meaningful, or solidly anchored in ideas or facts.

-Validity of a test is a judgment or estimate of how well a test measures what it claims to measure in a certain situation. More specifically, it is an evidence-based assessment of the appropriateness of inferences formed from test scores.

-The validity of tests and test scores is widely described. described in terms such as "acceptable" or "weak." These terms represent an assessment of how well the test measures what it claims to measure.

Test administration means the range of secure activities from procurement of assessment materials through the return of secure assessment materials to the Department or its agents.

Purpose of test administration:

• To help reduce measurement error.

• To increase the likelihood of fair, valid and reliable assessment.

• To improve measurement by increasing consistency and test security.

Sample of Test Administration:

Standardize Test - Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and ACT (American College Testing) are both standardised tests used for college admissions in the US.

Personality tests are designed to systematically elicit information about a person's motivations, preferences, interests, emotional make-up, and style of interacting with people and situations.

Can be in the form of:

• in-basket exercises

• interview

• observer ratings

• self-report inventories (i.e., questionnaires).

“Big 5” personality test

1. Openness to experience – (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious). Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience.

2. Conscientiousness – (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless). A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behaviour.

3. Extraversion – (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). Energy, positive emotions, urgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others.

4. Agreeableness – (friendly/compassionate vs. cold/unkind). A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.

5. Neuroticism – (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident). A tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability.

16 Personalities (MBTI)

1. Explorers

• Virtuoso (ISTP)

• Adventurer (ISFP)

• Entrepreneur (ESTP)

• Entertainer (ESFP)

2. Analyst

• Architect (INTJ)

• Logician(INTP)

• Commander(ENTJ)

• Debater(ENTP)

3. Diplomat

• Campaigner(ENFP)

• Protagonist (ENFJ)

• Mediator (INFP)

• Advocate(INFJ)

4. Sentinels

• Consul (ESFJ)

• Executive (ESTJ)

• Defender(ISFJ)

• Logistician (ISTJ)

Ability tests are standardised assessments which measure specific cognitive aptitudes, such as verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and inductive reasoning.

• General Ability Tests

evaluates abstract, learning, thinking, and adaptation skills

• Basic Arithmetic Skills

assesses proficiency with basic mathematical operations

(targeted people: job applicants)

• Problem Solving Ability Tests

evaluates the ability to identify and solve problems in a systematic and logical manner

(targeted people: engineers, analysts)

• Reaction Time Tests

measures how quickly an individual responds to a given stimulus

(targeted people: emergency responders, athlete)

• Mechanical Ability Tests

evaluates mechanical understanding and knowledge

(targeted people: engineers, technicians)

• Perceptual Speed and Accuracy Tests

tests the ability to match figures quickly and accurately

(targeted people: bank teller, inventory clerks)

• IQ Tests

- measures several factors of intelligence

• refers to data or behavior that is usual, average, normal, standard, expected, or typical within a specific group.

• the test performance data of a particular group of test-takers. (psychometric context)

Example:

• A sample representative of the adult population of the United States (broad norm)

• Female inpatients at the Bronx Community Hospital with a primary diagnosis of depression (narrow norm)

• are sets of tests designed to be administered to one respondent at a time.

• Some examples are intelligence test, personality test, neuropsychological tests, or any other psychological attribute.

• An example of an individual psychological test can be the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale.

children who may have special needs.

 example:

• Achievement test- evaluates accomplishment or the degree of learning that has taken place.

  
  

• Diagnostic test- In educational settings, diagnostic tests of reading, mathematics, and other academic subjects may be administered to assess the need for educational intervention as well as to establish or rule out eligibility for special education programs.
  

Informal evaluation- a typically non systematic assessment that leads to the formation of an opinion or attitude.

Clinical setting- These tools are used to help screen for or diagnose behavior problems.

Counseling settings- Measures of social and academic skills and measures of personality, interest, attitudes, and values are among the many types of tests that a counselor might administer to a client.

Geriatric settings- a multidimensional, multidisciplinary assessment designed to evaluate an older person's functional ability, physical health, cognition and mental health, and socio environmental circumstances.

Business and military settings- used in sundry ways, perhaps most notably in decision making about the careers of

personnel.

Governmental and organizational credentialing- Before they are legally entitled to practice medicine, physicians must pass an examination.

Academic research settings-

Assess learning abilities, Identify learning disabilities, support individualized lesson plan, enable placement decisions.

Industrial setting-

• Uses assessment information to index the level of skill or competency of its employees or their level of satisfaction.

• Assessments in work organization are conducted for business related reasons.
  

In Court- rely on psychological test data and related expert testimony as one source of information to help answer important questions such as “Is this defendant competent to stand trial?” and “Did this defendant know right from wrong at the time the criminal act was committed?”

• It aims to protect the welfare of the people involved.

• It ensures trust and fairness to the assessed.

• Test security has a strong impact that a breach of security may cause on the standardization of tests, the integrity of the results, and the long-term value of the test itself.

• If the data collected from a test do not accurately reflect the examinee characteristics that the test was designed to measure, then the inferences that can be made from it may be meaningless.

• Once proper interpretation and use of results can be observed, the assumption would be that the test security was maintained throughout the assessment.

• Simply stated, the test questions, answers, and /or scoring protocols were and should be not known to any of the examinees prior to the time of assessment.