Assessment

Question 1

A student obtained a score of 93 on a test having a standard error of measurement of 4 points. In interpreting results, the counselor correctly informed the student that

A. the student could not get a score above 97 no matter how many times the test was retaken by the student.
B. the student had scored among the top 11 percent of those who had taken the test.
C. the student had achieved a score that was at least four points above the national mean.
D. more than likely the student would get a score between 89 and 97 if the student took the test again.

Answer 1

D. more than likely the student would get a score between 89 and 97 if the student took the test again.

Question 2

A counselor was reviewing pre-workshop “parenting knowledge” test data from a group of 40 couples (ie. 80 respondents) who would soon be participating in a five-session workshop on parenting. The counselor observed that the local group=s mean was essentially the same as the national mean but that there was a negative skew in the local group=s test data. The counselor correctly reported to the workshop participants that

A. they, as a group, tended to be below average in parenting knowledge.
B. they, as a group, tended to be above average in parenting knowledge.
C. there was an error in scoring the test.
D. some participants could not benefit from participation in the workshop.

Answer 2

B. they, as a group, tended to be above average in parenting knowledge.

Question 3

A respondent took a standardized aptitude test which yielded percentile ranks for three normative groups. The respondent’s results were as follows: 55th percentile for local norms, 69th percentile for state norms, and 61st percentile for national norms. A counselor interpreting these data could correctly conclude that

A. similar group respondent aptitude scores in the state are generally higher than local respondent score aptitude.
B. similar group respondent aptitude scores nationally are lower than respondent aptitude scores locally.
C. similar group respondent aptitude normally is lower than respondent aptitude in the state.
D. no valid comparison among the respective distributions can be made from these data.

Answer 3

B. similar group respondent aptitude scores nationally are lower than respondent aptitude scores locally.

Question 4

In analyzing response data from a test, one type of information considered to be important in evaluating the test is the percentages of respondents who answered each item correctly. This percentage in known as the item index.

A. discrimination.
B. parameter.
C. proportionality.
D. difficulty

Answer 4

D. difficulty

Question 5

Person A and Person B both took the same test. Person A got a score of 100 while Person B got a score of 75. In order for a counselor to determine whether the difference between their scores was because of “chance,” the counselor would need to know which of the following characteristics of the test?

A. mean.
B. standard deviation.
C. standard error of measurement.
D. standard error of the mean.

Answer 5

C. standard error of measurement.

Question 6

A person got a score of 83 on a norm-referenced test. This means that the person

A. mastered 83% of the material covered on the test.
B. achieved a score better than 83% of those taking the test.
C. answered 83 questions correctly.
D. Sufficient information has not been provided to answer the question.

Answer 6

D. Sufficient information has not been provided to answer the question.

Question 7

A measure that is highly reliable can be depended on to

A. be equivalent.
B. measure accurately.
C. give consistent results.
D. be specific.

Answer 7

C. give consistent results.

Question 8

A clients __________ is a number that indicates how many persons taking the same test performed worse than or equal to the client.
A. norm
B. percentile rank
C. rank equivalent
D. test rank

Answer 8

B. percentile rank

Question 9

If several raters report a high degree of agreement in assessing a person, their rating could be characterized as having a high degree of:

A. validity
B. identify
C. discrimination
D. reliability

Answer 9

D. reliability

Question 10

A counselor gave a student the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (S-B) and the student achieved an I.Q. of 97. The same counselor re-tested the student with the S-B one-year later and the student achieved a full scale I.Q. of 122. Which of the following is most likely reason for the difference in results?

A. the students interim learning
B. the counselors improved administration proficiency
C. a practice effort from repeated administrations
D. an error in the assessment process

Answer 10

D. an error in the assessment process

Question 11

A counselor administered two self-concept measures to a group of subjects and found the Pearson product-moment correlation between two tests to be .70. The “coefficient of determination” for this correlation is
A. .21.
B. .49.
C. .70.
D. indeterminate from the information provided.

Answer 11

B. .49.

Question 12

Appraisal can be defined as

a. the process of assessing or estimating attributes.
b. testing which is always performed in a group setting.
c. testing which is always performed on a single individual.
d. a pencil and paper measurement of assessing attributes.

Answer 12

a. the process of assessing or estimating attributes.

Question 13

A test can be defined as a systematic method of measuring a sample of behavior. Test format refers to the manner in which test items are presented. The format of an essay test is considered a(n) _______ format.

a. subjective.
b. objective.
c. very precise.
d. concise.

Answer 13

a. subjective.

Question 14

A short answer test is a(n) _______ test.

a. objective.
b. culture free.
c. forced choice.
d. free choice.

Answer 14

d. free choice.

Question 15

A short answer test is a(n) _______ test.

a. objective.
b. culture free.
c. forced choice.
d. free choice.

Answer 15

d. free choice.

Question 16

The _______ index indicates the percentage of individuals who answered each item correctly.

a. difficulty.
b. critical.
c. intelligence.
d. personal.

Answer 16

a. difficulty.

Question 17

Short answer tests and projective measures utilize free response items. The NCE and the CPCE uses forced choice or so-called _______ items.

a. vague.
b. subjective.
c. recognition.
d. numerical.

Answer 17

c. recognition.

Question 18

A true/false test has _______ recognition items.

a. similar.
b. free choice.
c. dichotomous.
d. no.

Answer 18

c. dichotomous.

Question 19

A test format could be normative or ipsative. In the normative format

a. each item depends on the item before it.
b. each item depends on the item after it.
c. the client must possess an IQ within the normal range.
d. each item is independent of all other items.

Answer 19

d. each item is independent of all other items.

Question 20

A client who takes a normative test

a. cannot legitimately be compared to others who have taken the test.
b. can legitimately be compared to others who have taken the test.
c. could not have taken an IQ test.
d. could not have taken a personality test.

Answer 20

b. can legitimately be compared to others who have taken the test.

Question 21

In an ipsative measure the person taking the test must compare items to one another. The result is that

a. an ipsative measure cannot be utilized for career guidance.
b. you cannot legitimately compare two or more people who have taken an ipsative test.
c. an ipsative measure is never valid.
d. an ipsative measure is never reliable.

Answer 21

b. you cannot legitimately compare two or more people who have taken an ipsative test.

Question 22

Tests are often classified as speed tests versus power tests. A timed typing test used to hire secretaries would be

a. a power test.
b. neither a speed test nor a power test.
c. a speed test.
d. a fine example of an ipsative measure.

Answer 22

c. a speed test.

Question 23

A counseling test consists of 300 forced response items. The per- son taking the test can take as long as he or she wants to answer the questions.

a. This is most likely a projective measure.
b. This is most likely a speed test.
c. This is most likely a power test.
d. This is most likely an invalid measure.

Answer 23

c. This is most likely a power test.

Question 24

In a spiral test

a. the items get progressively easier.
b. the difficulty of the items remains constant.
c. the client must answer each question in a specified period
of time.
d. the items get progressively more difficult.

Answer 24

d. the items get progressively more difficult.

Question 25

In a cyclical test

a. the items get progressively easier.
b. the difficulty of the items remains constant.
c. you have several sections which are spiral in nature.
d. the client must answer each question in a specified period of time.

Answer 25

c. you have several sections which are spiral in nature.

Question 26

A test battery is considered

a. a horizontal test.
b. a vertical test.
c. a valid test.
d. a reliable test.

Answer 26

a. a horizontal test.

Question 27

In a counseling research study two groups of subjects took a test with the same name. However, when they talked with each other they discovered that the questions were different. The research- er assured both groups that they were given the same test. How is this possible?

a. The researcher is not telling the truth. The groups could not possibly have taken the same test.
b. The test was horizontal.
c. The test was not a power test.
d. The researcher gave parallel forms of the same test.

Answer 27

d. The researcher gave parallel forms of the same test.

Question 28

Which is more important, validity or reliability?

a. Reliability.
b. They are equally important.
c. Validity.
d. It depends on the test in question.

Answer 28

c. Validity.

Question 29

A counselor peruses a testing catalog in search of a test which will repeatedly give consistent results. The counselor

a. is interested in reliability.
b. is interested in validity.
c. is looking for information which is not available.
d. is magnifying an unimportant issue.

Answer 29

a. is interested in reliability.

Question 30

Construct validity refers to the extent that a test measures an abstract trait or psychological notion. An example would be

a. height.
b. weight.
c. ego strength.
d. the ability to name all men who have served as U.S. presi-
dents.

Answer 30

c. ego strength.

Question 31

Face validity refers to the extent that a test

a. looks or appears to measure the intended attribute.
b. measures a theoretical construct.
c. appears to be constructed in an artistic fashion.
d. can be compared to job performance.

Answer 31

a. looks or appears to measure the intended attribute.

Question 32

A job test which predicted future performance on a job very well would

a. have high criterion/ predictive validity.
b. have excellent face validity.
c. have excellent construct validity.
d. not have incremental validity or synthetic validity.

Answer 32

a. have high criterion/ predictive validity.

Question 33

When a counselor tells a client that the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) will predict her ability to handle graduate work, the counselor is referring to

a. good concurrent validity.
b. construct validity.
c. face validity.
d. predictive validity.

Answer 33

d. predictive validity.

Question 34

A reliable test is _______ valid.
a. always.
b. 90%.
c. not always.
d. 80%.

Answer 34

c. not always.

Question 35

A valid test is _______ reliable.
a. not always.
b. always.
c. never.
d. 80%.

Answer 35

b. always.

Question 36

One method of testing reliability is to give the same test to the same group of people two times and then correlate the scores. This is called

a. test–retest reliability.
b. equivalent forms reliability.
c. alternate forms reliability.
d. the split-half method.

Answer 36

a. test–retest reliability.

Question 37

One method of testing reliability is to give the same population alternate forms of the identical test. Each form will have the same psychometric/statistical properties as the original instrument. This is known as

a. test–retest reliability.
b. equivalent or alternate forms reliability.
c. the split-half method.
d. internalconsistency.

Answer 37

b. equivalent or alternate forms reliability.

Question 38

A counselor doing research decided to split a standardized test in half by using the even items as one test and the odd items as a second test and then correlating them. The counselor

a. used an invalid procedure to test reliability.
b. was testing reliability via the split-half method.
c. was testing reliability via the equivalent forms method.
d. was testing reliability via the inter-rater method.

Answer 38

b. was testing reliability via the split-half method.

Question 39

Which method of reliability testing would be useful with an essay test but not with a test of algebra problems?

a. test–retest.
b. alternate forms.
c. split-half.
d. interrater/interobserver.

Answer 39

d. interrater/interobserver.

Question 40

A reliability coefficient of 1.00 indicates

a. a lot of variance in the test.
b. a score with a high level of error.
c. a perfect score which has no error.
d. a typical correlation on most psychological and counseling tests.

Answer 40

c. a perfect score which has no error.

Question 41

A reliability coefficient of 1.00 indicates

a. a lot of variance in the test.
b. a score with a high level of error.
c. a perfect score which has no error.
d. a typical correlation on most psychological and counseling tests.

Answer 41

c. a perfect score which has no error.

Question 42

An excellent psychological or counseling test would have a reliability coefficient of

a. 50.
b. .90.
c. 1.00.
d. −.90.

Answer 42

b. .90.

Question 43

A researcher working with a personality test discovers that the test has a reliability coefficient of .70 which is somewhat typical. This indicates that

a. 70% of the score is accurate while 30% is inaccurate.
b. 30% of the people who are tested will receive accurate
scores.
c. 70% of the people who are tested will receive accurate
scores.
d. 30% of the score is accurate while 70% is inaccurate.

Answer 43

a. 70% of the score is accurate while 30% is inaccurate.

Question 44

A career counselor is using a test for job selection purposes. An acceptable reliability coefficient would be _______ or higher.

a. .20.
b. .55.
c. .80.
d. .70.

Answer 44

c. .80.

Question 45

_______ did research and concluded that intelligence was nor- mally distributed like height or weight and that it was primarily genetic.

a. Spearman.
b. Guilford.
c. Williamson.
d. Francis Galton.

Answer 45

d. Francis Galton.

Question 46

_______ did research and concluded that intelligence was nor- mally distributed like height or weight and that it was primarily genetic.

a. Spearman.
b. Guilford.
c. Williamson.
d. Francis Galton.

Answer 46

d. Francis Galton.

Question 47

Francis Galton felt intelligence was

a. a unitary faculty.
b. best explained via a two factor theory.
c. best explained via the person’s environment.
d. fluid and crystallized in nature.

Answer 47

a. a unitary faculty.

Question 48

J. P. Guilford isolated 120 factors which added up to intelligence. He also is remembered for his

a. thoughts on convergent and divergent thinking.
b. work on cognitive therapy.
c. work on behavior therapy.
d. work to create the first standardized IQ test.

Answer 48

a. thoughts on convergent and divergent thinking.

Question 49

A counselor is told by his supervisor to measure the internal con- sistency reliability (i.e., homogeneity) of a test but not to divide the test in halves. The counselor would need to utilize

a. the split-half method.
b. the test–retest method.
c. the Kuder-Richardson coefficients of equivalence.
d. cross-validation.

Answer 49

c. the Kuder-Richardson coefficients of equivalence.

Question 50

Today, the Stanford-Binet IQ test is

a. a nonstandardized measure.
b. a standardized measure.
c. a projective measure.
d. b and c.

Answer 50

b. a standardized measure.

Question 51

IQ stands for intelligence quotient, which is expressed by

a. CA/MA×100.
b. CA/MA×100.
c. MA/CA×50.
d. MA/CA×100.

Answer 51

d. MA/CA×100.

Question 52

Group IQ tests like the Otis Lennon, the Lorge-Thorndike, and the California Test of Mental Abilities are popular in school set- tings. The advantage is that

a. group tests are quicker to administer.
b. group tests are superior in terms of predicting school per-
formance.
c. group tests always have a higher degree of reliability.
d. individual IQ tests are not appropriate for school children.

Answer 52

a. group tests are quicker to administer.

Question 53

In a culture-fair test

a. items are known to the subject regardless of his or her culture.
b. the test is not standardized.
c. culture-free items cannot be utilized.
d. African Americans generally score higher than Whites.

Answer 53

a. items are known to the subject regardless of his or her culture.

Question 54

The word psychometric means
a. a form of measurement used by a neurologist.
b. any form of mental testing.
c. a mental trait which cannot be measured.
d. the test relies on a summated or linear rating scale.

Answer 54

b. any form of mental testing.

Question 55

In a projective test the client is shown
a. something which is highly reinforcing.
b. something which is highly charged from an emotional
standpoint.
c. a and b.
d. neutralstimuli.

Answer 55

d. neutralstimuli.

Question 56

The 16 PF reflects the work of
a. Raymond B. Cattell.
b. Carl Jung.
c. James McKeen Cattell.
d. Oscar K. Buros.

Answer 56

a. Raymond B. Cattell.

Question 57

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator reflects the work of
a. Raymond B. Cattell.
b. Carl Jung.
c. William Glasser.
d. Oscar K. Buros.

Answer 57

b. Carl Jung.

Question 58

An aptitude test is to _______ as an achievement test is to _______.

a. what has been learned; potential.
b. potential; what has been learned.
c. profit from learning; potential.
d. a measurement of current skills; potential.

Answer 58

b. potential; what has been learned.

Question 59

Both the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) are projective tests. The Rorschach uses 10 inkblot cards while the TAT uses

a. a dozen inkblot cards.
b. verbal and performance IQ scales.
c. pictures.
d. incompletesentences.

Answer 59

c. pictures.

Question 60

One major criticism of interest inventories is that

a. they have far too many questions.
b. they are most appropriate for very young children.
c. they emphasize professional positions and minimize blue-collar jobs.
d. they favor female pursuits.

Answer 60

c. they emphasize professional positions and minimize blue-collar jobs.

Question 61

One problem with interest inventories is that the person often tries to answer the questions in a socially acceptable manner. Psychometricians call this response style phenomenon:

a. standard error.
b. social desirability (the right way to feel in society).
c. cultural bias.
d. acquiescence.

Answer 61

b. social desirability (the right way to feel in society).

Question 62

Your supervisor wants you to find a new personality test for your counseling agency. You should read
a. professional journals.
b. the Buros Mental Measurements Yearbook.
c. classic textbooks in the field as well as test materials produced by the testing company.
d. all of the above.

Answer 62

d. all of the above.

Question 63

The standard error of measurement tells you

a. how accurate or inaccurate a test score is.
b. what population responds best to the test.
c. the accuracy for personality but not IQ tests.
d. the number of people used in norming the test.

Answer 63

a. how accurate or inaccurate a test score is.

Question 64

Counselors often shy away from self-reports since

a. clients often give inaccurate answers.
b. ACA ethics do not allow them.
c. clients need a very high IQ to understand them.
d. they are generally very lengthy.

Answer 64

a. clients often give inaccurate answers.

Question 65

In most instances, who would be the best qualified to give the Rorschach Inkblot Test?

a. A counselor with NCC, NCCC after his or her name.
b. A clinical psychologist.
c. A D.O. psychiatrist.
d. A social worker with ACSW after his or her name.

Answer 65

b. A clinical psychologist.

Question 66

According to Public Law 93–380, also known as the Buckley Amendment, a 19-year-old college student attending college

a. could view her record, which included test data.
b. could view her daughter’s infant IQ test given at pre-
school.
c. could demand a correction she discovered while reading
a file.
d. all of the above.

Answer 66

d. all of the above.

Question 67

Lewis Terman

a. constructed the Wechsler tests.
b. constructed the initial Binet prior to 1910.
c. constructed the Rorschach.
d. Americanized the Binet.

Answer 67

d. Americanized the Binet.