Assessment Flashcards
(40 cards)
Which of the following is not defined as a basic function of appraisal:
Select one:
A. assessing the presenting problem
B. gaining a basis for prediction
C. understanding a client’s personality resources
D. providing a client with information about him or herself
D. providing a client with information about him or herself
Because of the word “not,” this is a reverse type question. While some instruments of appraisal provide clients with information about themselves, appraisal (which is essentially synonymous with diagnosis) basically involves identifying the presenting problem, gaining an understanding of the client, and predicting the future course of the problem and the client.
The correct answer is: providing a client with information about him or herself
If a test uses an existing passing score as a comparison to your score, it is:
Select one:
A.
criterion-referenced
B.
norm-referenced
C.
a standardized test
D.
a power test
A.
criterion-referenced
Criterion-referenced test-scores are interpreted in terms of a prespecified standard of performance. (b) Norm-referenced compares scores to scores in the sample norm. (c) Standardized test scores are determined in terms of standard deviations from the mean. (d) Power tests are made up of items of varying difficulty levels. An examinee’s score on a power test reflects the level of difficulty she or he has mastered.
The correct answer is: criterion-referenced
Moos and his associates have developed three major dimensions to measure environments in order to classify the similarities and differences among them. These dimensions are useful in environmental assessment and include all of the following except:
Select one:
A.
a relationship dimension
B.
a system maintenance and change dimension
Incorrect
C.
an individual intrapsychic dimension
D.
a personal development dimension
C.
an individual intrapsychic dimension
Moos (1975) focused on the environment in which people interact. Answers (a), (b), and (d) exist in that environment and are measured by Moos. An individual intrapsychic dimension is not included; thus, (c) is “wrong,” and the correct answer to this reverse type question.
The correct answer is: an individual intrapsychic dimension
Which of the following would be the best predictor of an individual’s IQ score:
Select one:
A.
the IQ of the rest of his family
B.
his age
C.
his birth order
D.
his gender
A.
the IQ of the rest of his family
Of the choices listed, only the IQ of family members has any validity for predicting an individual’s IQ.
The correct answer is: the IQ of the rest of his family
You develop a diagnostic math test for a group of sixth-graders. You correlate scores on the diagnostic instrument with the examinees’ most recent grades in math classes. You do so to establish:
Select one:
A.
construct validity
B.
criterion-related validity
C.
content validity
D.
differential validity
B.
criterion-related validity
A predictor test has criterion-related validity if it is useful for predicting outcome on another (criterion) measure. In this case, the predictor would be the math test, and the criterion would be the grades in math classes. A high correlation between the predictor and the criterion measures indicates that the predictor has high criterion-related validity. (a) Construct validity refers to when a test is found to measure the hypothetical trait or construct it is intended to measure. Construct validity is determined through a systematic accumulation of evidence showing that a test actually measures what it is supposed to measure. (c) Content validity refers to the systematic evaluation of a test by experts who determine whether or not the test items adequately sample the relevant domain. (d) Discriminant validity is a test for a study’s construct validity. It involves establishing if a test has low correlations with measures of unrelated traits.
You give a group of your clients a test of vocational interest. You then give the same group a different version of the same test. You find that the correlation between the first group of scores and the second group of scores is .55. What kind of reliability coefficient is this:
Select one:
A.
coefficient of equivalence
B.
coefficient of stability
C.
coefficient of internal consistency
D.
coefficient alpha
A.
coefficient of equivalence
A coefficient of equivalence is derived by administering two forms of the same test to a single sample and correlating the two sets of scores.
For which of the following pairs is IQ score correlation the lowest:
Select one:
A.
siblings reared apart
B.
child reared apart from biological parent and his or her biological parent
C.
non-biological siblings reared together
D.
adoptive parent and child
D.
adoptive parent and child
The low correlations obtained between the IQS of adoptive parents and adopted children supports the notion that intelligence is primarily an innate, inherited characteristic.
A personnel manager gives all employees a battery of five tests before they are hired. The maximum score on each test is 100 and the passing score on each is 65. An applicant scores 99, 97, 95, 100, and 64 on the tests. The personnel manager is using the method of multiple cutoff. Therefore, she will:
Select one:
A.
use each score as a predictor of future job performance in a particular area
B.
use her own judgment to decide which score(s) accurately reflect(s) the applicant potential
C.
hire this applicant
D.
reject this applicant
D.
reject this applicant
With this method, there is a cutoff score on each test in the battery. The applicant must score at or above the cutoff score established, which, in this case, is 65. The one test score of 64 means this applicant will be rejected.
The correct answer is: reject this applicant
Junior, a one-year-old infant, takes an infant IQ test and achieves a score of 130. Research on the predictive validity of infant intelligence tests suggests that when Junior reaches adulthood, he will achieve an IQ of:
Select one:
A.
greater than 130
B.
less than 130
C.
about 130
D.
either 130, less than 130, or greater than 130
D.
either 130, less than 130, or greater than 130
Research indicates that infant intelligence tests administered before the age of two have little or no validity for predicting future intelligence.
An expectancy table is used to:
Select one:
A.
predict an individual’s criterion score given his predictor score
B.
determine an individual’s true criterion score given his predicted criterion score
C.
estimate an individual’s expected score on a predictor given his previous performance on the predictor
D.
determine an individual’s expected score on a predictor given his demographic characteristics
A.
predict an individual’s criterion score given his predictor score.
Expectancy tables allow a test user to interpret examinees’ predictor scores in terms of potential scores on a criterion. They are a form of criterion-referenced interpretation.
On a standardized test measuring your reasoning skills, you score at the 65th percentile. This means that:
Select one:
A.
you scored higher than 65% of the other test takers
B.
you scored lower than 65% of the other test takers
C.
you answered 65% more of the items correctly than did someone scoring at the mean
D.
your score cannot be compared to other examinees because it is a standardized test
A.
you scored higher than 65% of the other test takers
A percentile indicates the percentage of other people taking the same test who scored lower than you; conversely, you can determine the percentage of people you scored higher. So, A is correct - you scored higher than 65% of the other test takers.
An eighth-grade student is tested on a standardized mathematics achievement test. Her score is compared to other eighth graders locally, statewide, and nationally. Compared to others at the local level, she scored at the 60th percentile. Compared to others at the state level, she scored at the 70th percentile. Compared to others nationally, she scored at the 80th percentile. What does this information tell us about how other students in her local area compare to students statewide and nationally:
Select one:
A.
students in the local area perform better than the state average but lower than the national average
B.
students in the local area perform better than both the state and national averages
C.
students in the local area perform lower than both the state and national averages
D.
students in the local area perform lower than the state average but better than the national average
B.
students in the local area perform better than both the state and national averages
The student, in comparison to students at the local level, is at a lower percentile than she is at either the state or national levels. This means that other students locally perform better than both the state and national averages - this student’s percentile is lower locally because she’s up against better “competition.”
Advocates of a behavioral assessment approach have defined several differences between behavioral and traditional assessment approaches. For example, in contrast to traditional assessment, behavioral assessments emphasize the analysis of:
Select one:
A.
traits
B.
states
C.
signs
D.
dynamics
B.
states
Traditional assessment tends to focus on global traits such as ego strength. Behavioral assessment emphasizes directness and deals with modes of responses that are more situationally specific (i.e., states).
Personality and interest tests are:
Select one:
A.
tests of typical performance
B.
tests of maximum performance
C.
normative measures
D.
ipsative measures
A.
tests of typical performance
Typical performance gives information about how the examinee usually performs. This is the information obtained from personality and interest tests. (b) Achievement and aptitude tests are usually tests of maximum performance. (c) Normative measures or standardized tests are administered under standard conditions to a representative sample to establish “norms” for whatever is being measured. (d) Ipsative measures indicate relative strengths and weaknesses of interest in an examinee.
When you administer an achievement test, your purpose is most likely to be which of the following:
Select one:
A.
to assess the individual’s ability to manipulate quantitative data
B.
to measure how much the individual’s skills have developed
C.
to measure the individual’s vocational potential
D.
to assess how actively the individual is involved in the vocational choice process
B.
to measure how much the individual’s skills have developed
Achievement tests are designed to measure how much an individual has learned, how developed his/her skills are, or what competencies he/she has acquired. Choice (a) describes a purpose for the tests of mental ability. “Mental ability” (intelligence) refers to an individual’s ability to manipulate verbal, quantitative, and other abstract symbols. Choice (c) describes a purpose for the aptitude tests, which are tests designed to estimate an individual’s potential for future performance. And response (d) is associated with the personality inventories. These tests are used to collect information on an individual’s attitudes, preferences, or problems. Some personality measures are useful for assessing how actively involved the individual is in the vocational choice process.
A nine-year-old girl is given a standardized IQ test as part of the admissions procedure to enter a private school for gifted children and her IQ is 135. One year later the girl is re-tested. You would expect her obtained IQ score on re-testing to be:
Select one:
A.
higher than 135
B.
135
C.
lower than 135
D.
either higher or lower than 135, but close to it
C.
lower than 135
This question is related to the concept of regression to the mean. According to this principle, extreme scores (i.e., very high or very low scores) are likely to be less extreme (i.e., closer to the mean) upon retesting. Since 135 is a very high IQ score, the child’s IQ score is likely to be slightly lower when she is re-tested.
Which of the following descriptive words for tests are most opposite in nature:
Select one:
A.
speed and power
B.
subjective and aptitude
C.
norm-referenced and standardized
D.
maximal and ipsative
A.
speed and power
Pure speed tests and pure power tests are at opposite ends of a continuum. A speed test is one with a strict time limit and easy items which most or all examinees are expected to answer correctly. Speed tests measure examinees’ response speed. A power test is one with either no time limit or a generous one, and has items ranging from easy to very difficult (usually ordered from least to most difficult). Power tests measure level of content mastered.
Increasing the length of a test MAY increase a test’s:
Select one:
A.
reliability and validity
B.
validity but never reliability
C.
reliability but never validity
D.
ease of scoring
A.
reliability and validity
Increasing test length will increase reliability. Sometimes, validity tends to increase when reliability increases. Answer (d) is incorrect, because a longer test will be more difficult to score.
A test of mechanical aptitude is being used to select participants for jobs on the assembly line at an airplane manufacturing company. An analysis has determined that the test measures two factors: fine motor skills and spatial reasoning. This fact provides evidence of the test’s:
Select one:
A.
construct validity
B.
concurrent validity
C.
incremental validity
D.
content validity
A.
construct validity
A test has construct validity to the degree that it measures the amount of a theoretical construct possessed by an examinee. Construct validity is assessed in many ways, such as conducting a factor analysis and determining whether or not test scores have an expected correlation with the underlying factors identified by the analysis. (b) Concurrent validity is a type of criterion-related validity. Criterion-related validity is of interest when test scores are used to predict an examinee’s likely performance on another set of measures. Concurrent validity is assessed by collecting criterion data prior to or at about the same time as the data on the predictor. (c) Incremental validity refers to the extent to which a predictor increases decision-making accuracy. Incremental validity is also a type of criterion-related validity. (d) Content validity refers to the extent to which a test accurately samples the domain that it purports to measure. Content validity is determined primarily by expert judgment.
Normative and ipsative measures differ from one another in the following way:
Select one:
A.
ipsative measures require examinees to compare test items to one another while normative measures require examinees to respond to each test item independently
B.
only ipsative measures yield scores that can be compared between subjects
C.
only ipsative measures are used to measure attributes such as personality traits or interests
D.
ipsative measures require examinees to respond to each test item independently while normative measures require examinees to compare test items to one another
A.
ipsative measures require examinees to compare test items to one another while normative measures require examinees to respond to each test item independently
Normative measures require examinees to respond to each item independent of every other test item, while ipsative measures require examinees to compare test items to one another. Normative measures yield scores that provide an estimate of the absolute strength of each attribute measured by the test for each examinee and permit comparisons between examinees. In contrast, ipsative measures yield scores that indicate the relative strengths of the various attributes being measured within each examinee.
The counseling department at a university is interested in measuring the relationship between the GRE scores of students entering the program and the students’ grade point average upon graduation. They discover that the correlation between the two measures is .60. What is the amount of variability shared between grade point average and GRE:
Select one:
A.
0.8
B.
0.6
C.
0.36
D.
0.06
C.
0.36
Shared variability, or the amount of variability shared by two variables, is equal to the square of the correlation coefficient (r) of the two variables, or r2. If the correlation is .60, then the amount of shared variability is .602, or .36.
A junior high school counselor gives an IQ test to a 13-year old student. The student scores very high on the test. The counselor would expect the student to have:
Select one:
A.
below-average athletic ability
B.
average athletic ability
C.
above-average athletic ability
D.
no interest in athletics
Feedback
B.
average athletic ability
Notice that the question asked what the counselor would “expect.” In appraisal, an expected value is the value you think a variable would take on, assuming only the information you are given. There is no consistent correlation between most IQ tests and athletic ability. If there is no correlation between two variables, then the value you expect for the second variable based on the first variable is the mean. The best answer, then, is the one that reflects average athletic ability. Think about it this way: if you know absolutely nothing about a person, you would assume they’re average. If IQ and athletic ability were strongly correlated, however, the answer would be “a” (if they were negatively correlated) or “c” (if they were positively correlated).
A career counselor gives all of her new clients a measure of career maturity that scores people on a 100-point scale from 1 to 100. After collecting data on over 100 clients, she notices that the scores are normally distributed. The mean score is 65, indicating a level of moderate career maturity. The standard deviation of scores is 10. Based on this information, she would expect that 68% of her clients will have scores between:
Select one:
A.
1 and 100
B.
35 and 95
C.
45 and 85
D.
55 and 75
D.
55 and 75
In a normally distributed distribution, approximately 68% of scores will be in the range of one standard deviation below the mean and one standard deviation above the mean. In this case, the standard deviation is 10 and the mean is 65. One standard deviation below the mean is 55 and one standard deviation above the mean is 75. So, the career counselor would expect about two-thirds, or 68%, of the scores to be in this range.
A client at a vocational development center is taking a test to help determine her career interests. The function of this test could be best described as:
Select one:
A.
prediction
B.
discrimination
C.
monitoring
D.
evaluation
B.
discrimination
Vocational or career interest tests (and all interest tests for that matter) are considered to be used for the purpose of discrimination (i.e., determining what category a person belongs in).