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Psychological Testing and Assessment Book Cover
Psychological Testing and Assessment: An Introduction To Tests and Measurement, 5/e
Ronald Jay Cohen
Mark Swerdlik

Psychological Testing and Assessment

CHAPTER 1


Testing and Assessment

Testing and Assessment Defined

Alternate assessment

The Tools of Psychological Assessment

The test

The interview

The portfolio

Case history data

Behavioral observation

Role play tests

Computers as tools

Other tools

Twelve Assumptions in Psychological Testing and Assessment

Assumption 1: Psychological traits and states exist.

Assumption 2: Psychological traits and states can be quantified and measured.

Assumption 3: Various methods of measuring aspects of the same thing can be useful.

Assumption 4: Assessment can provide answers to some of life's most momentous questions.

Assumption 5: Assessment can pinpoint phenomena that require further attention or study.

Assumption 6: Many sources of data are part of the assessment process.

Assumption 7: Various sources of error are part of the assessment process.

Assumption 8: Tests and other measurement techniques have strengths and weaknesses.

Assumption 9: Test-related behavior predicts non--test-related behavior.

Assumption 10: Present-day behavior sampling predicts future behavior.

Assumption 11: Testing and assessment can be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner.

Assumption 12: Testing and assessment benefit society.

Who, What, and Why?

Who Are the Parties?

The test developer

The test user

The test taker

Society at large

Other Parties

In What Types of Settings Are Assessments Conducted and Why?

Educational settings

Counseling settings

Clinical settings

Business settings

Other settings

Evaluating the Quality of Tests

What Is a Good Test?

Reliability

Validity

Other considerations

Reference Sources for Test Information

Test manuals

Test catalogues

Reference manuals

Journal articles

Online databases

Other sources

CLOSE-UP

Error of Measurement and the True Score Model

EVERYDAY PSYCHOMETRICS

Putting Tests to the Test

SELF-ASSESSMENT