reliability and validity of standardized tests

Effects of stress and anxiety on memory and testing ability (8.3).

Successful Intelligence: analytical, creative, practical intelligence (8.2).

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory and its organization (8.2).

Standardization, reliability, and validity (8.1).

Understanding Tests and Test Constructionīy reading and studying Module 8, you should be able to remember and describe: This module concludes with Section 8.3, a discussion of test anxiety and the effects of stress on memory.Ĩ.1. Because tests can be difficult, unpleasant, and very important, many students suffer anxiety as a result of them. Section 8.2 takes up the question of what intelligence tests measure and fail to measure it also discusses a couple of views of intelligence that characterize it as a set of separate abilities, rather than as a single trait. Section 8.1 introduces you to the principles of test construction and how they apply to standardized tests and course exams in school. This module describes the good and bad aspects of tests, primarily tests of intellectual ability. Elementary schools begin preparing their students for third grade abilities tests as early as kindergarten.

Many states require college placement exams of all high school students.

And of course, if the current projections that most people will be required to return to school for retraining at various times during their careers are correct, you are likely to continue to face the dreaded midterm and final examinations in courses throughout your life.įor better or worse, we have entered an era of unprecedented testing. If you decide to earn an advanced degree, you may be required to take another standardized test such as the LSAT, GMAT, MCAT, or GRE. Cognitive ability tests, skills tests, even personality tests and integrity tests are all used as part of the employee selection procedure at many companies. And, of course, nearly every college class offers two to three exams of its own.Įven after college, you will not be done with tests. You may face standardized tests when you begin and when you finish at the college in order to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum. At your school, students may be required to take exams to place them into the correct English and math classes, and to determine if they are skilled at college-level reading.

If the answer to the previous question is “no,” what abilities (besides “intellectual” abilities) might help people to succeed in school and in life?ĬogAT, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, SAT, ACT, General Chemistry, Principles of Economics.

Do you think that tests of intellectual ability (for example, SAT, ACT, intelligence tests) do a good job of predicting who will be successful in school and in life?.

Did you take the SAT or the ACT? Have you ever taken an intelligence test?.

Reliability and validity of standardized tests