Issues in Test Construction and Assessment

Ethical Principles of Psychological Testing

A) Qualifications for Users of Psychological Tests
1. Their knowledge and skills in
 Psychometric principles and statistics;
 Selection of tests in light of;
 their technical qualities,
 the purpose for which they will be used, and
 issues related to the cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, age,
linguistic, and disability related characteristics of
examinees;
 Procedures for administering and scoring tests, as well
as for interpreting, reporting, and safeguarding their
results; and
 All matters relevant to the context—whether it be
employment, educational, career and vocational
counseling, health care, or forensic—and purpose of the
test use.
2. The extent to which test users have received appropriate
supervised experience in all aspects of the knowledge and
skills pertinent to the intended use of a specific test.

B) Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers

Some of the important rights of test takers include the
following:
 The right to receive an explanation prior to testing about
the purposes for testing, the tests to be used, whether
the test results will be reported to them or to others, and
the planned uses of the results. If test takers have a
disability or difficulty comprehending the language of the
test, they have the right to inquire and learn about
possible testing accommodations.

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 The right to know if a test is optional and to learn of the
consequences of taking or not taking the test, fully
completing the test, or canceling the scores.
 The right to receive an explanation of test results within
a reasonable time and in commonly understood terms.
 The right to have test results kept confidential to the
extent allowed by law.
Some of the important responsibilities of test takers
include the following:
 The responsibility to read and/or listen to their rights
and responsibilities.
 The responsibility to ask questions prior to testing about
why the test is being given, how it will be given, what
they will be asked to do, and what will be done with the
results.
Note:
a) Even the most carefully developed and psychometrically
sound instrument is subject to misuse.
b) According to the Testing Standards, the responsibility
for appropriate test use and sound interpretation of test
scores rests primarily on the test user.
c) Test misuse can occur at every step of the testing
process, starting with the inappropriate selection of
instruments either for the purposes to which they are
applied or for the individuals to whom they are
administered. Errors in administration or scoring and in
the interpretation or reporting of test results may
compound the problem of test misuse.
d) Whenever the possibility of using tests is contemplated,
the best way to prevent their misuse is to ensure at the
outset that the individuals involved in every facet of test
use have the qualifications and competence necessary to
fulfill their roles in the testing process

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Essentials of Test Selection
 To Use or Not to Use (Psychological Tests), That Is
the (First) Question. Regardless of the purposes for
which psychological testing is intended, the first issue to
be decided is whether testing is needed. In order to
resolve this issue, prospective test users should engage
in a cost–benefifit analysis similar to the one suggested
by L. Goldman (1971) a long time ago that is,
nevertheless, still useful.
 It consists of explicitly considering the following
questions:
 What kind of information do I seek to gain from testing?
 How will this information be used?
 How much, if any, of the information I seek is already
available from other sources?
 What other tools might be used to gather the information
I seek?
 What are the advantages of using tests instead of, or in
addition to, other sources of information?
 What are the disadvantages, possible harm, or costs in
time, effort, and money of using tests instead of, or in
addition to, other sources of information?

Top 10 Reasons for Not Using Tests

 There are many reasons why, and many situations in
which, the use of psychological tests is not advisable; the
following list merely presents the most salient ones. With
few exceptions, psychological tests should not be used
when any of these circumstances apply:
 1. The purpose of testing is unknown or unclear to the
test user.

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 2. The test user is not completely familiar with all of the
necessary test documentation and trained on the
procedures related to the test.
 3. The test user does not know where the test results will
go or how they will be used, or cannot safeguard their
use.
 4. The information that is sought from testing is already
available, or can be gathered more efficiently, through
other sources.
 5. The test taker is not willing or able to cooperate with
the testing.
 6. The test taker is likely to incur some harm due to the
testing process itself.
 7. The environmental setting and conditions for the
testing are inadequate.
 8. The test format or materials are inappropriate in light
of the test taker’s age, sex, cultural/linguistic
background, disability status, or any other condition that
might invalidate test data.
 9. The test norms are outdated, inadequate, or
inapplicable for the test taker.
 10. The documentation on the reliability or validity of
test scores is inadequate.
D)Biodata
 Life-history information, also known as biodata, can be obtained
through a number of methods, including interviewing, questionnaires,
and examination of existing records of past behavior, such as
academic transcripts, police reports, and so on. As stated earlier,
examination of medical records is an indispensable aspect of any
clinical evaluation of symptoms that may be rooted in or affected by
neurological or metabolic disorders, drug intake, or other possible
physical conditions.

E)Interview Data

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 Interviewing can provide a wealth of information in almost any
assessment context; it affords the opportunity to observe the
interviewee’s behavior and to gather pertinent life-history data as well
as information about the individual’s attitudes, opinions, and values.
A face-to-face interview is a very flexible tool and, when properly
conducted, may prove to be of critical value in making decisions
about people. In many clinical, forensic, and employment settings,
interviewing the individuals who are being assessed as well as those
who can provide collateral data is considered an essential aspect of
the assessment process. However, the reliability and validity of
interview data are highly dependent on the interviewer’s skill and
objectivity in gathering, recording, and interpreting information. To
combat the potential weaknesses inherent in interview data, current
practices in most fields that use interviewing techniques stress either
the intensive training of interviewers or the use of structured
interviews—which are really standardized instruments or both.

F) Observation Data
 Another ubiquitous source of assessment data consists
of ratings, checklists, and coding systems based on
various types of direct behavioral observation or on
previous relevant contact with the person to be assessed.
As with interviewing, the reliability and validity of ratings
and other data derived from observation can vary greatly
depending on the rater and on the system that is used
for rating or recording observations. Training that
provides raters with a uniform standard by which to
evaluate performance can improve the quality of
observational data. The use of standardized rating scales
to gather data from informants, such as parents or
teachers, is a common procedure in the assessment of
children and adolescents

Some Factors to Consider in Selecting Tests in Relation

to Prospective Test Takers
 Factors related to test medium: The choice of a specific
medium of presentation for tests items—such as paper-

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 and-pencil versus computers or tablets, oral versus
visual presentation, and so on—will pose some
advantages or disadvantages for examinees, depending
on their familiarity with the medium, sensory acuity in
the auditory and visual modes, motor skills, and so forth.
Even when a test includes some practice items to
familiarize test takers with a chosen medium, their
varying amounts of prior experience with it will probably
continue to affect examinees’ test performance.
 Factors related to test format: Regardless of their
content, selected-response items tend to require more
receptive skills than constructed-response items, which
involve the use of expressive skills. Since test takers
differ in terms of those skills, the choice of item format
will also affect their performance. Additional factors,
such as the use of time limits or individual versus group
administration, will also affect test takers deferentially
based on their cultural and experiential backgrounds.
 Factors related to the language of test items:
Whenever language is part of a test but not of its
essence, the receptive and expressive linguistic skills of
the test takers may unduly affect scores. Thus,
depending on the requirements of a specific test,
examiners should consider and ascertain whether test
takers have sufficient levels of vocabulary, reading skills,
and writing skills to be able to understand and attempt
to perform the tasks required of them. To this end, for
instance, test manuals should and often do include
information concerning the reading level required to
understand test items.

G) Preparing the Testing Environment

 The most important principle to follow in preparing the
environment in which testing will occur is to anticipate
and remove any potential sources of distraction. Rooms
in which testing is conducted should be adequately lit
and ventilated, should provide appropriate seating and

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 space for test takers, and should be free from noises or
other stimuli (e.g., food or drink) that might disrupt the
test takers’ ability to attend to their tasks. To prevent
possible interruptions, it is customary to post a sign—
which many test publishers freely provide—on the door
of the examination room to alert passersby that testing is
in progress.
 Beyond securing a suitable testing room, adequate
preparation of the testing environment involves following
the test manual’s instructions for administration, which
are geared toward replicating the conditions under which
the test was standardized as closely as possible. For
group testing, these instructions might include providing
materials necessary for taking the test (e.g., pencils with
erasers) and making sure that test takers are seated in
such a way that they are prevented from conversing or
looking into each other’s response booklets, and so forth.
For individual tests, special seating arrangements need
to be made so that the examiner can present test
materials in the proper orientation, record responses
unobtrusively, and fully observe the test taker’s behavior
 Some test manuals specify that, as a general rule, no one
other than the examiner and the test taker may be in the
room where an individual test administration takes
place. The presence of third parties poses the possibility
of distracting from or even influencing the testing
process and introduces an element that is inconsistent
with standardized test administration and an additional,
unnecessary risk to test security. However, there may be
special circumstances that require the observation of a
test administration by others— for example, in some
cases where litigation is involved or when students are
receiving formal training in test administration. Ideally,
such observations should be made from a room adjacent
to the testing room, through a one-way mirror. In some
other circumstances, involving test takers who may have
difficulties communicating with the examiner due to their
young age or linguistic background or because of a

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 disability, the presence of a parent or an interpreter may
be required in the testing room. In such situations, as
well as in any other case in which special
accommodations that may have a bearing on the
interpretation of scores are made, the report of test
results should note them.

Preparing the Test Taker

There are two distinct aspects of testing that relate to the
preparation of test takers. The first one is largely within the
purview of the examiner and concerns the establishment of
rapport as well as the proper orientation of the test taker
prior to administering the test. The second aspect, which is
not within the examiner’s control, pertains to all the
antecedent life experiences that test takers might have had
that would affect their performance on a particular test.

 Establishing Rapport: In the context of testing, the term

rapport refers to the harmonious relationship that
should exist between test takers and examiners. In order
to maximize the reliability and validity of test results, a
friendly atmosphere needs to be established from the
beginning of the testing session, and rapport ideally
should range from good to excellent. Absence of rapport
can, of course, be attributable to either party in the test
situation and may stem from inexperience or ineptness
on the part of the examiner, an unfavorable disposition
on the part of the test taker, or both. Needless to say, to
the extent that rapport is lacking, test performance is
likely to be deleteriously affected, even to the point where
test scores are invalidated. In order to build rapport, the
examiner should attempt to engage the interest and
cooperation of test takers in the testing process so that
they may react to test tasks in an appropriate fashion, by
putting forth their best efforts in tests of ability and by
responding as openly and honestly as possible on
instruments designed to assess personality.

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 The process of rapport-building is more extensive in
individual than in group testing because individual
testing allows examiners to observe the test taker’s
behavior closely and continuously and to extend their
efforts to maintain rapport throughout the testing
process. Nevertheless, even in group testing, examiners
must try to explain the purpose of the test, the testing
procedures, and so on in a friendly manner within the
constraints of the directions for test administration
provided in the test manual, which must be followed in
order to keep conditions uniform.

I) Test Preparation From the Test Taker’s Perspective

 It goes without saying that the purpose for which testing
takes place, and the contextual aspects of the situation
and circumstances in which testing takes place, have a
significant bearing on test takers’ attitudes and
motivation. One of the clearest examples of the influence
of context on test takers’ performance is the now well-
known phenomenon of stereotype threat. Research on
the effects of this aspect of the test situation continues to
grow and has even played a part in arguments brought
up by the APA in a Supreme Court case in the United
States. Among the many other cognitive and emotional
factors that have a bearing on examinees predispositions
toward testing and on the extent to which they are
prepared for a test-taking experience, test anxiety and
test sophistication are probably the two most frequently
discussed and investigated in the psychological testing
literature.
 A brief overview of each follows.
 Test Anxiety. The prospect of being evaluated tends to
elicit some degree of apprehension in most test takers,
especially when the test scores are to be used as a basis
for making decisions that will have important
consequences for them. For some test takers this
apprehension is easily dissipated and dealt with—and

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 may even improve their levels of performance by
heightening their physiological arousal. For others, test
anxiety becomes a debilitating or even incapacitating
factor that may have a significant deleterious effect on
test performance or prevent them from taking tests
altogether. Moreover, the reasons why test takers
experience anxiety before and during the testing process
can vary widely as well. Some of these reasons may be
related to the type of test to be taken (e.g., speed tests,
math tests, etc.), some may be related to test takers
themselves (e.g., expectations of failure based on
antecedent experiences), and still others may be a
function of the context in which testing takes place (e.g.,
pre-employment testing) or of a combination of variables.
Although examiners should be alert to try to reduce the
level of test takers’ anxiety as part of the process of
building rapport, there are also measures that test takers
themselves can take toward the same end.
 Test Sophistication. Strictly speaking, the variable
known as test sophistication (a.k.a. test-taking skills or
test wiseness) refers to the extent to which test takers
have had experience or practice in taking tests. As a
general rule, on most types of ability tests, having had
the experience of taking a particular test or type of test
tends to be advantageous for the test taker in that it
provides practice and may reduce anxiety and bolster
confidence. In fact, when individuals are retested with
either the same or an alternate form of a test of ability,
their second scores are almost invariably higher than the
first, a phenomenon that is known as the practice effect.
J) The Problem of Test-Taker Dissimulation
 An entirely different perspective on test takers’
predispositions is presented in situations in which the
type of decision making for which a test is used promotes
deception or concealing information. This is common in
context of forensic and neuropsychological assessment.
Undoubtedly, obtaining the full cooperation of test takers

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 in the testing process is a crucial matter upon which
depends the reliability and accuracy of test results

K) Preparation of the Examiner

 Obtaining Informed Consent. According to the Ethical
Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA,
2010), prior to the administration of a psychological test
or assessment procedure, psychologists must obtain and
document the informed consent of test takers either
orally or in writing. In order to be considered informed,
the consent obtained from test takers has to be preceded
by a suitable explanation of the nature and purpose of
the evaluation, as well as information concerning
confidentiality limits and how the security of test results
will be maintained. Other practical matters that might
affect test takers in a specific situation (e.g., fees, ability
to refuse or discontinue testing, involvement of third
parties, etc.) should also be discussed. Test takers
should be given the opportunity to ask questions they
might have about the testing process and have them
answered. The ethical code of conduct of psychologists
lists a few exceptional circumstances in which the
informed consent is not required either because it is
implied or because the assessment is mandated.
L) Test Administration in the Digital Age
 It seems almost inevitable that in the not-too-distant
future test administration via paper and pencil will be
largely a thing of the past. There are many advantages—
in terms of economy, efficiency, and accuracy—of using
digital technology rather than humans to elicit and score
the behavior samples that make up psychological tests.
In the past few decades, the process of replacing paper
and pencil with electronic and digital technologies has
advanced rapidly.
M) Test Scoring

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 Test users need to ascertain empirically that those who
will be scoring test responses—from individual or group
testing—are trained well enough to achieve results
virtually identical to those produced by an independent
and experienced scorer. As a general rule, when inter-
scorer reliability coefficients can be obtained, they should
approach +1.00 and should not be much below .90.
When scores are expressed in some other fashion, the
goal should be to get as close as possible to 100%
agreement in the scores assigned by independent,
trained scorers.
N) Communicating Test Results and Assessment
Findings
 The most basic guideline to follow in communicating test
results is to provide the information derived from test
scores, including their limitations, in language that the
recipient can understand. However, the specific manner
in which scores are reported can vary widely depending
on the tests administered, the setting or context in which
testing takes place, the purposes for which the testing
was undertaken, and the intended recipients of the
information. Thus, the appropriate way to report the
results of psychological testing or the findings of an
assessment cannot be condensed into a single set of
rules suitable for all cases.
O) Safeguarding Test Data
The security of test data, whether they consist of
individually identifiable records, scores, and reports or of
test materials themselves (e.g., booklets, forms, questions,
scoring keys, manuals, etc.), is a primary responsibility of
the test users and institutions who control access to such
data. In certain cases, this responsibility can become
difficult to discharge because (a) different and evolving legal
mandates, institutional requirements, professional
standards, and ethical concerns govern the decision of
when, how, and to whom test data may be disclosed, and (b)
these various strictures can differ substantially depending

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on the setting and the purpose of testing and may even
conflict with one another.

Specific Principles for Psychological Testing: America

Psychological Association (APA) Guidelines

Principle 1: Responsibility
 As a scientist, the psychologist believes that society will be best
served when he investigates where—his judgement indicates—
investigation is needed. He plans research in such a way as to
minimize the possibility that his findings will be misleading and he
publishes full report of his work, never discarding without
explaining the data which may modify the interpretation of his
results.
 As a teacher, the psychologist recognizes his primary obligation to
help learners acquire knowledge and skill, and to maintain high
standards of scholarship.
 As a practitioner, the psychologist knows that he bears a heavy
social responsibility because his work may touch intimately the
lives of others.
Principle 2: Competence
 The maintenance of high standards of professional competence is
a responsibility shared by all psychologists in the interest of the
public and of the profession as a whole.
Principle 3: Moral and Legal Standards
 The psychologist in the practice of his profession shows sensible
regard for the legal codes and moral expectations of the
community in which he works, recognizing that violations of
accepted moral and legal standards on his part may involve his
clients, students or colleagues, and impugn his own name and the
reputation of his profession.
Principle 4: Misrepresentation
 The psychologist avoids misrepresentation of his own professional
qualifications, affiliation and purposes, and those of the
institutions and organizations with which he is associated. Some

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 may over-qualify themselves and mention popular institutions
where they are not affiliated.
Principle 5: Public Statements
 Modesty, scientific caution and due regard for the limits of present
knowledge, characterize all statements of the psychologists who
supply information to the public, either directly or indirectly.
Report results fairly and appropriately without exaggeration.

Principle 6: Confidentiality
 Safeguarding information about an individual that has been
obtained by the psychologist in the course of his teaching, practice
or investigation is a primary obligation of the psychologist. Such
information is not communicated to others unless certain
important conditions are met.

Principle 7: Client Welfare

 The psychologist respects the integrity and protects the welfare of
the person or group with whom he is working.
Principle 8: Client Relationship
 The psychologist informs his prospective client of the important
aspects of the potential relationship that might affect the client's
decision to enter the relationship.
Principle 9: Impersonal Service
 Psychological services for the purpose of diagnosis, treatment or
personalized advice are provided only in the context of a
professional relationship and are not given by means of public
lectures or demonstrations, newspaper or magazine articles, radio
or television programs, mail or similar media.

Principle 10: Announcement of Services

 A psychologist adheres to professional rather than commercial
standards in making known his availability for professional
services.

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Principle 11: Interprofessional Relations
 A psychologist acts with integrity in regard to colleagues in
psychology and in other professions.

Principle 12: Remuneration

 Financial arrangements in professional practice are in accord with
professional standards that safeguard the best interest of the
client and the profession.

Principle 13: Test Security

 Psychological tests and other assessment devices, the value of
which depends in part on the naivety of the subject, are not
reproduced or described in popular publications in ways that
might invalidate the techniques. Access to such devices is limited
to persons with professional interests who will safeguard their use.
Principle 14: Test Interpretation
 Test scores, like test materials, are released only to persons who
are qualified interpreters and use them properly.
Principle 15: Test Publication
 Psychological tests are offered for commercial publication only to
publishers who present their tests in a professional way and
distribute them only to qualified users.

Principle 16: Research Precautions

 The responsible psychologist weighs alternative directions in which
personal energies and resources might be invested. Having made
the decision to conduct research, psychologists must carry out
their investigations with respect for the people who participate,
and with concern for their dignity and welfare.

Principle 17: Publication Credit

 Credit is assigned to those who have contributed to a publication,
in proportion to their contribution and only to these.
Principle 18: Responsibility towards Organization

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 A psychologist respects the rights and reputation of the institute
or organization with which he is associated.
Principle 19: Promotional Activities
 The psychologist associated with the development or promotion of
psychological devices, books or other products offered for
commercial sale is responsible for ensuring that such devices,
books or products are presented in a professional and factual way.

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a) General uses and application of psychological tests- organizational setting,
educational setting, healthy and community settings.
b) Principles of psychometric assessment (Reliability and validity)

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