TestingYou know it, you love it,

and you can’t live without it.

But do you really know how it is supposed to

be conducted and used?

A test of your optimism or pessimism Which do you like better?

– A. hamburgers B. hot dogs What kind of grades do you get?

– A. good grades B. bad grades Which do you like better?

– A. talking on the phone– B. going to a movie

How often do you go out to eat?– A. less than five times a week– B. more than five times a week

Which color do you like best?– A. orange– B. blue

Validity

A test is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure.

Was the test you just took a valid measure of optimism/pessimism?

What are some more valid questions to measure optimism/pessimism?

Form groups of three and try to write one valid question for each of the categories that:– Could be given to a CHS sophomore– Could be scored quickly and accurately– Would differentiate between subjects

who clearly understand the material, somewhat understand the material, and really does not understand the material

Standardization and Norms

Read and answer the questions for Part B on the back page.

Is this all that there is to making a good test?

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

WAIS-III

WAIS-III

WAIS-III

WAIS-III The WAIS-III is the 1997 revision of the test originally published in 1955 and first revised in 1981. The

WAIS-III contains the following scales: Verbal Scales

1. Information: 28 items on a variety of information adults have presumably had opportunities to acquire in our culture. No specialized or academic information included; however, some of the items cover quite sophisticated information.

2. Comprehension: 18 items that require examinee to explain what should be done in certain circumstances, the meaning of proverbs, why certain societal practices are followed, and so forth. The test measures practical judgment, common sense, and the ability to understand and adapt to social customs. Score on each item varies (0-2 pts) according to the degree to which the response describes the most pertinent aspects of the question.

3. Arithmetic: 20 arithmetic problems similar to those encountered in elementary math courses. Problems are administered orally and must be solved without paper and pencil. In addition to math knowledge, test measures concentration and systematic problem-solving ability.

4. Similarities: 19 items requiring examinee to describe how two given things are alike. Score on each item varies according to the degree to which the response describes a general property primarily pertinent to both items in the pair. Measures concrete, functional, and abstract concept formation.

5. Digit Span: Two parts, Digits forward and digits backwards. Examinee required to repeat 3 - 9 digits forward and 2 - 9 digits backwards. Measures short-term memory, attention, and concentration..

6. Vocabulary: 66 words of increasing difficulty are presented orally and visually. Examinee required to define the words. Score (0-2) based on sophistication of definition. Measures verbal knowledge and concept formation.

7. Letter-Number Sequencing (Optional Test): Examiner presents combinations of letters and numbers, from 2 to nine letter-number combinations. Examinee must repeat each series by, first, repeating the numbers in ascending order, then the letters in alphabetical order (e.g., 9-L-2-A; correct response is 2-9-A-L). Measures "working memory," the ability to simultaneously recall and organize stimuli of different, similar types. This also is a standard test on the Wechsler Memory Scale-III.

WAIS-III Performance Scales

8. Coding-Digit Symbol: Numbers 1 - 7 are paired with symbols on a key presented to examinee. Examinee has 120 seconds to go through a grid of 90 numbers and place the correct symbol above each number. Measures visual-motor speed and complexity, motor coordination. There are two additional, optional extensions of the coding test that measure the examinees skills in learning the coding process after completing the initial task. 9. Picture Completion: 25 cards, each containing a picture having a part missing. Examinee must identify the missing part. Measures ability to observe details and recognize specific features of the environment (I.e., whole to part discrimination). Also measures performance in deliberately focusing attention.

10. Block Design: Perhaps the butt of more jokes than any other WAIS scale! Included in the test are nine red and white square blocks and a spiral booklet of cards showing different color designs that can be made with the blocks. The examinee must arrange the blocks to match the design formed by examiner or shown on cards. In addition to being scored for accuracy, each item is scored for speed as well. Measures spatial problem-solving and manipulative abilities, and part to whole organization.

11. Picture Arrangement: Eleven items. Each item consists of 3 to 6 cards containing pictures. The examinee must arrange the pictures from left to right to tell the intended story. Again, both accuracy and speed are scored. Partial credit is given for alternate, but less commonly given arrangements to some items.Measures nonverbal reasoning and sequencing skills, and grasp of social cause and effect (also known as social intelligence).

12. Matrix Reasoning: A new test on the WAIS-III. Examinee is presented with a series of design with a part missing. Examinee chooses the missing part that will complete the design, from five choices. Measures nonverbal analytical reasoning.

13. Object Assembly (Optional Test): Four items, each item being a "cut up" object, like a puzzle. Examinee must correctly assemble the parts of the puzzle. Measures visual-motor problem-solving and organizational abilities, and visual anticipation skills.

14. Symbol Search (Optional test): Examinee must match one or two symbols shown on the left column with the same symbol/s in the right column of each page in the supplemental test booklet. Measures organization accuracy and processing speed

More Validity issues

Face validity - Does the measure, on the face of it, seem to measure what is intended?

Construct validity - (the most important aspect)– criterion validity - consists of:

convergent validity - does this test return similar results to other tests which purport to measure the same thing?

Sources of Invalidity

Response sets - psychological bias toward answering in a particular way– Acquiesence - tendency to agree– Social desirability - tendency to portray

oneself in a positive light– Faking bad - purposely saying ‘no’ or

looking bad if there is a ‘reward’ (i.e., attention, compensation, social welfare, etc.)

Sources of Invalidity, cont’d.

Bias– Cultural bias - does the psychological

construct have the same meaning from one culture to another; how are the different items interpreted by people from different cultures

– Gender bias?

Reliability - extent to which a test is repeatable and yields consistent scores

Some people score quite differently on a valid test when they take it twice.

Test-retest reliability - administer a newly created test to a sample group of people and then wait a period of time until it seems likely that the people cannot recall the specific test questions. Then you administer the test again to see if the scores are similar.

Reliability, cont’d.

Split-half reliability - Create a test with several questions that ask about the same information. Then score each half of the questions separately and compare the scores.

Equivalent forms reliability - Create two versions of the test. Form A would have a variety of questions that would be matched, question-by-question, with similar items on Form B.

Reliability, cont’d.

Inter-rater reliability - Different people score the same test. Compare the scores they gave the same questions/answers.

Internal consistency - The greater the number of similar items, the greater the possibility of having internal consistency. (This is why some scales/questionnaires ask so many seemingly similar questions.)

8th Grade Final Exam:  Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.2. Name the parts of speech and define those

that have no modifications. 3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give

principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.' 5. Define case; illustrate each case.6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal

marks of punctuation. 7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words

and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15

minutes) 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of

Arithmetic. 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide.

How many bushels of wheat will it hold?3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth

at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare? 4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the

necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5 Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days

at 7 percent.7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16

ft. long at $20 per metre?8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at

10 percent. 9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the

distance of which is 640 rods?10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a

Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas . 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of

the Rebellion.7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton

, Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?8. Name events connected with the following

dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) 

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?3. What are the following, and give examples of each:

trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals 4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'5 Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two

exceptions under each rule.6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling Illustrate each. 7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with

a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in

Kansas? 3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?4. Describe the mountains of North America 5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa ,

Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of  Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.