Test Development

Why Develop a New Test?

meet

the needs of a special group of test takers sample behaviours from a newly defined test domain improve the accuracy of test scores for their intended purpose Tests need to be revised

First Four Steps

Defining

the test universe, audience, and purpose Developing a test plan Composing the test items Writing the administration instructions

Continued Steps of Test Construction

Diagram of Test Construction (p. 234)
Constructing

Scales Piloting the Test Standardizing the Test Collecting Norms Validation & Reliability Studies Manual Writing Test Revision

Defining the Test Universe, Audience, & Purpose

Defining

the test universe.

prepare a working definition of the construct locate studies that explain the construct locate current measures of the construct

Defining the Test Universe, Audience, & Purpose

Defining

the target audience.

make a list of characteristics of persons who will take the test--particularly those characteristics that will affect how test takers will respond to the test questions (e.g., reading level, disabilities, honesty, language)

Defining the Test Universe, Audience, & Purpose

Defining

the purpose.

includes not only what the test will measure, but also how scores will be used e.g., will scores be used to compare test takers (normative approach) or to indicate achievement (criterion approach)? e.g., will scores be used to test a theory or to provide information about an individual?

Developing a Test Plan

A

test plan includes a definition of the construct, the content to be measured (test domain), the format for the questions, and how the test will be administered and scored

Defining the Construct

Define

construct after reviewing literature about the construct and any available measures Operationalize in terms of observable and measurable behaviours Provides boundaries for the test domain (what should and shouldnt be included) Specify approximate number of items needed

Choosing the Test Format

Test

format refers to the type of questions the test will contain (usually one format per test for ease of test takers and scoring) Test formats have two elements:
stimulus (e.g., a question or phrase) mechanism for response (e.g., multiple choice, true-false). May be objective or subjective test format

Composing the Test Items

test

items are the stimuli presented to the test taker (may or may not take the form of questions) the form chosen depends on decisions made in the test plan (e.g., purpose, audience, method of administration, scoring)

Test Types
Structured

Response

Multiple Choice True False, Forced Choice Likert Scales

Free

Response

Essay, Short Answer Interview Questions Fill in the Blank Projective Techniques

Multiple Choice
Multiple

choice most common in educational testing (and also some personality and employment testing)
consists of a stem and a number of responses-should only be one right answer the wrong answers are called distractors because they may appear correct--should be realistic enough to appeal to uninformed test taker easy scoring but downside is that test takers can get some correct by guessing

Multiple Choice
Pros

more answer options (4-5) reduce the chance of guessing that an item is correct many items can aid in student comparison and reduce ambiguity, increase reliability measures narrow facets of performance reading time increased with more answers transparent clues (e.g., verb tenses or letter uses a or an) may encourage guessing difficult to write four or five reasonable choices takes more time to write questions

Cons

True/False
True/False

is also used in educational testing and some personality testing

in educational testing the test taker can again gain some advantage by guessing

True/False (cont.)
Ideally

a true/false question should be constructed so that an incorrect response indicates something about the student's misunderstanding of the learning objective. may be a difficult task, especially when constructing a true statement.

This

Forced Choice Items

Forced-Choice

is similar to multiple-choice but is used in personality and attitude tests (e.g., MBTI)
test taker must choose between unrelated but equally acceptable responses

Forced Choice Items(cont.)

Example Place an X in the space to the left of the work that of the word in each pair that best describes your personality. 1. ____ Sunny ____ Friendly 2. ____ Outgoing ____ Loyal

Likert Scales
Likert

scales are usually reliable and highly popular (e.g., personality and attitude tests)
item is presented with an array of response options (e.g., 1 to 5 or 1 to 7 scale), usually on an agree/disagree or approve/disapprove continuum

Test Types
Structured
Great

Response

Advantages
Breadth Quick Scoring

Disadvantages
Limited

Depth Difficult to assess higher levels of skills Guessing/Memorization vs. Knowledge

Subjective Items
subjective

items are less easily scored but provide the test taker with fewer cues and open wider areas for response--often used in education
essay questions - responses can vary in breadth and depth and scorer must determine to what extent the response is correct (often by examining match with predetermined correct response)

Essay Questions
Provide

a freedom on response that facilitates assessing higher cognitive behaviors (e.g., analysis and evaluation) respondent to focus on what they have learned and does not limit them to specific questions

Allows

Interview Questions
interview questions are often used in organizational settings--interviewer decides what is a good or poor answer
test

plan should be based on knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics required to perform the job

Information

can be obtained from a job description, job analysis, current job incumbent

Projective Techniques
Projective

techniques are often employed in clinical settings

uses a highly ambiguous stimulus to elicit an unstructured response (i.e., the test taker projects his or her perception and perspective onto a neutral stimulus) variety of stimuli (e.g., pictures, words) and responses may be verbal or drawing pictures

Sentence Completion
Sentence-Completion

format presents an incomplete sentence that the test taker completes (e.g., I feel happiest when ) tests are at risk for judgment error and inter-rater reliability is therefore of particular importance--scoring keys and training important

subjective

Test Types
Subjective
Can

Items

Advantages
Test Higher Cognitive skills Encourages organize/develop thoughts

Disadvantages
Difficult

to Grade Judgement error (e.g., interrater reliability) Requires Advance - Objective Scoring Key

Writing Good Items

Basis

building block of test construction Little attention given to writing items an art that requires originality, creativity, combined with knowledge of test domain and good item writing practices not all items will perform as expected--may be too easy or difficult, may be misinterpreted, etc. rule of thumb to write at least twice as many items as you expect to use Broad vs. Narrow items

Writing Good Items (cont.)

Suggestions:

identify item topics by consulting test plan (increases content validity) ensure that each item presents a central idea or problem write items drawn only from testing universe write each item in clear and direct manner

Writing Good Items (cont..)

Suggestions:

use vocabulary and language appropriate for the target audience (e.g., age, culture) take into account sexist or racist language (e.g., mailman, fireman) make all items independent (e.g.,one question per question) ask an expert to review items to reduce ambiguity and inaccuracy

Writing Administration Instructions

specify

the testing environment to decrease variation or error in test scores should address:
group or individual administration requirements for location (e.g., quiet) required equipment time limits or approximate completion time script for administrator and answers to questions test takers may ask

Specifying Administration and Scoring Methods

determine

such things as how test will be administered (e.g., orally, written, computer--individually or in groups) method of scoring, but also whether scored by hand by test administrator, or accompanied by scoring software, or sent to test publisher for scoring

Scoring Methods
Cumulative model: most common
assumes that the more a test taker responds in a particular fashion the more he/she has of the attribute being measured (e.g., more correct answers, or endorses higher numbers on a Likert scale) correct responses or responses on Likert scale are summed yields interval data that can be interpreted with reference to norms

Scoring Methods (cont.)

Categorical model: place test takers in a group
e.g., a particular pattern of responses may suggest diagnosis of a certain psychological disorder typically yields nominal data because it places test takers in categories

Scoring Methods (cont)

Ipsative model: test takers scores are not compared to that of other test takers but rather compare the scores on various scales WITHIN the test taker (Which scores are high & low)
e.g., a test taker may complete a measure of interpersonal problems of various types and the test administrator may want to determine which of the types the test taker feels is most problematic for him or her
Cumulative model may be combined with categorical or ipsative model

Response Bias
In

preparing an item review, each question can be evaluated from two perspectives: Is the item fair? Is the item biased?

Tests

are subject to error and one form comes from the test takers

Response Sets/Styles
Are

patterns of responding that result in misleading information and limit the accuracy and usefulness of the test scores

Reasons for misleading information 1. Information requested is too personal 2. Distort their responses 3. Answer items carelessly 4. May feel coerced into completing the test

Response Style
People always agree (acquiescence) or disagree (criticalness) with statements without attending to the actual content Usually, when items are ambiguous
Solution: use both positively- and negativelykeyed items

Social Desirability
Some test takers choose socially acceptable answers or present themselves in a favourable light
People

often do not attend as much to the trait being measured as to the social acceptability of the statement
represents unwanted variance

This

Social Desirability (cont.)

Example items:
Friends would call me spontaneous. People I know can count on me to finish what I start. I would rather work in a group than by myself.

I often get stressed-out in many situations.

Faking
Faking -- some test takers may respond in a particular way to cause a desired outcome
may fake good (e.g., in employment settings) to create a favourable impression may fake bad (e.g., in clinical or forensic settings) as a cry for help or to appear mentally disturbed

may use some subtle questions that are difficult to fake because they arent clearly face valid

Faking Bad
People try to look worse than they really are
Common

problem in clinical settings

Reasons:
Cry

for help Want to plea insanity in court Want to avoid draft into military Want to show psychological damage

Most people who fake bad overdo it

Impression Management
Mitigating IM:
Use

positive and negative impression scales (endorsed by 10% of the population) Use lie scales to flag those who score high (e.g., I get angry sometime). Inconsistency scales (e.g., two different responses to two similar questions) (Use multiple assessment methods (other than self-report)

Random Responding
Random responding may occur when test takers are unwilling or unable to respond accurately.
likely to occur when test taker lacks the skills (e.g., reading), does not want to be evaluated, or lacks attention to the task try to detect by embedding a scale that tends to yield clear results from vast majority such that a different result suggests the test taker wasnt cooperating

Random Responding
Detection:
Duplicate

items: I love my mother. I hate my mother. scales: Ive never had hair on my head. I have not seen a car in 10 years.

Infrequency

Random Responding
May occur for several reasons: People are not motivated to participate Reading or language difficulties Do not understand instructions / item content Too confused or disturbed to respond appropriately

Piloting and Revising Tests

cant

assume the test will perform as expected pilot test scientifically investigates the tests reliability and validity administer test to sample from target audience analyze data and revise test to fix any problems uncovered--many aspects to consider

Setting Up the Pilot Test

test

situation should match actual circumstances in which test will be used (e.g., in sample characteristics, setting) developers must follow the American Psychological Associations codes of ethics (e.g., strict rules of confidentiality and publish only aggregate results)

Conducting the Pilot Test

depth

and breadth depends on the size and complexity of the target audience adhere strictly to test procedures outlined in test administration instructions generally require large sample may ask participants about the testing experience

Analyzing the Results

can

gather both quantitative and qualitative information use quantitative information for such things as item characteristics, internal consistency, convergent and discriminate validity, and in some instances predictive validity

Revising the Test

Choosing

the final items requires weighing each items content validity, item difficulty and discrimination, interitem correlation, and bias when new items need to be added or items need to be revised, the items must again be pilot tested to ensure that the changes produced the desired results

Validation and Cross-Validation

Validation

is the process of obtaining evidence that the test effectively measures what it is supposed to measure (i.e., reliability and validity) first part of establishing content validity is carried out as the test is developed--that it measures the constructs (construct validity) and predicts an outside criterion is determined in subsequent data collection

Validation and Cross-Validation

when

the final revision of a test yields scores with sufficient evidence of reliability and validity, test developers then conduct cross-validation--a final round of test administration to another sample because of chance factors the reliability and validity coefficients will likely be smaller in the new sample--referred to as shrinkage