Foundations of Psychological Testing

Leslie A. Miller, PhD, SHRM-CP, PHR, has broad experience in consulting, teaching, and researching in the area of organizational and educational assessment, measurement, and development. Currently the owner of her own consulting business, LanneM TM, LLC, she provides her clients with pragmatic and affordable talent management solutions to help them acquire, develop, and retain the talent they need to achieve desired business results. Her expertise includes designing performance improvement and management tools and knowledge tests, customizing and facilitating leadership training programs, providing assessment-based executive coaching, and designing and implementing business impact evaluation and return-on-value studies. She also spends her time as an adjunct faculty member teaching organizational behavior and psychology, research, and human resources courses at Rollins College, the University of Oklahoma, and for the School of Advanced Studies at the University of Phoenix. In addition, she chairs doctoral dissertations. Previously the vice president of leadership development and human resources at the Central Florida YMCA, she was responsible for contributing to the strategic plans of the organization by leading the association’s talent management initiatives—recruiting, developing, and retaining the association’s talent. Prior to joining the YMCA, she was employed by Wilson Learning Corporation (WLC), a performance improvement company, where she served as the director of business solutions, a senior project manager, and a business solutions consultant. In these roles, she was responsible for conceptualizing, designing, managing, and implementing traditional and technology-based assessment, measurement, and training performance improvement solutions for client organizations.Prior to joining WLC, Dr. Miller served as the assistant dean of admissions at Rollins College, where she was also a faculty member of the psychology, organizational behavior, and human resources programs. Before joining Rollins College, she was a senior research psychologist for the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in Washington, D.C. At the bureau, she designed, researched, and analyzed the results of some of our nation’s most important surveys. In her current and previous roles, she has worked with various leading organizations in the high-tech, financial, pharmaceutical, and transportation industries. The holder of a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Maryland, she has an extensive list of publications and presentations. She is a member of the APA, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Robert L. Lovler, PhD, has over 30 years of experience working as both an internal and an external consultant to Fortune 500 companies in the areas of employee assessment and selection, organizational development, strategic human resource consulting, and training design and delivery. His career began at CBS Inc., where he served in several roles, including director of training for the retail consumer electronics unit, then moving up to vice president of two different units within the CBS Publishing Group. He is currently senior vice president of global human resources at Wilson Learning Corporation, an international consulting firm that focuses on human performance improvement. During his career, he has had the opportunity to design and implement a wide range of organizational interventions both domestically and internationally, working in Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, England, and Italy. In the United States, he supervised the development and implementation of the assessment center used to select candidates for entry into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Senior Executive Service Development Program, presenting the results in Washington, D.C., to Christine Todd Whitman, the EPA administrator. He also developed the system used to help select commercial airline pilots for a major U.S. airline and worked with former senator Warren Rudman to develop and implement a nationwide survey of sales practices in the rent-to-own industry. He has served as a testing consultant to the California Bar Association and the state of Pennsylvania, and he oversaw the development of the licensure examinations for medical physicists in the state of Texas. He has been on the faculty of the State University of New York at Farmingdale, and the adjunct faculty of Hofstra University, and the University of Central Florida. Dr. Lovler received his BA degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Hofstra University. He is a member of the APA and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

• PrefaceAbout the AuthorsSECTION I. OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTINGChapter 1. What Are Psychological Tests?Why Should You Care About Psychological Testing?What Is a Psychological Test?The History of Psychological TestingThe Three Defining Characteristics of Psychological TestsAssumptions of Psychological TestsTest Classification MethodsPsychological Assessment, Psychological Tests, Measurements, and SurveysLocating Information About TestsChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 2. Why Is Psychological Testing Important?Types of Decisions Made Using Psychological Test ResultsWhich Professionals Use Psychological Tests and for What Reasons?Psychological Testing ControversiesChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 3. What Are the Ethical Responsibilities of Test Publishers, Test Users, and Test Takers?What Are Ethics?Professional Practice StandardsCertification and LicensureGeneral Responsibilities of Test Publishers, Test Users, and Test TakersTesting Special PopulationsChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsSECTION II. PSYCHOMETRIC PRINCIPLESChapter 4. How Do Test Users Interpret Test Scores?Levels of MeasurementProcedures for Interpreting Test ScoresStandard ScoresThe Role of NormsChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 5. What Is Test Reliability/Precision?What Is Reliability/Precision?Classical Test TheoryThree Categories of Reliability CoefficientsThe Reliability CoefficientInterpreting Reliability CoefficientsFactors That Influence ReliabilityGeneralizability TheoryChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 6. How Do We Gather Evidence of Validity Based on the Content of a Test?Sources of Evidence of ValidityUse of Various Sources of Evidence of ValidityEvidence of Validity Based on Test ContentFace ValidityChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 7. How Do We Gather Evidence of Validity Based on Test–Criterion Relationships?What Is Evidence of Validity Based on Test–Criterion Relationships?Methods for Providing Evidence of Validity Based on Test–Criterion RelationshipsSelecting a CriterionDoes the Criterion Measure What It Is Supposed to Measure?Calculating and Evaluating Validity CoefficientsThe Relationship Between Reliability and ValidityUsing Validity Information to Make PredictionsChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 8. How Do We Gather Evidence of Validity Based on a Test’s Relation to Constructs?The Notion of Construct ValidityGathering Evidence of Construct ValidityFactor AnalysisChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsSECTION III. DEVELOPING AND PILOTING SURVEYS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTSChapter 9. How Do We Construct and Administer Surveys and Use Survey Data?Similarities and Differences Between Surveys and Psychological TestsSurvey SoftwareThe Scientific Approach to Constructing, Administering, and Using Survey DataSurvey Reliability/Precision and ValidityChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 10. How Do We Develop a Test?Why Develop a New Test?Defining the Testing Universe, Audience, and PurposeDeveloping a Test PlanComposing the Test ItemsWriting Effective ItemsWriting the Administration InstructionsConducting the Pilot TestChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 11. How Do We Assess the Psychometric Quality of a Test?Conducting Quantitative Item AnalysisConducting Qualitative Item AnalysisRevising the TestValidating the TestEthical Issues Associated With Test ValidationDeveloping Norms and Identifying Cut ScoresCompiling the Test ManualChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsSECTION IV. USING TESTS IN DIFFERENT SETTINGSChapter 12. How Are Tests Used in Educational Settings?Types of Decisions Made in the Educational SettingEducational Professionals as Test UsersStandards Specific to Educational Professionals as Test UsersSpecific Uses of Psychological Tests in Educational SettingsNorm-Referenced, Criterion-Referenced, and Authentic Assessment of AchievementChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 13. How Are Tests Used in Clinical and Counseling Settings?The Work of Clinical and Counseling PsychologistsMental Health Practitioners′ Use of Psychological TestsCase Examples of How Tests Are Used in Clinical and Counseling SettingsPsychological Testing in Depth: Assessing Autism, Depression, and Alzheimer’s DiseaseEvidence-Based AssessmentThe Psychological Testing Report and Client FeedbackChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsChapter 14. How Are Tests Used in Organizational Settings?Pre-Employment TestingPerformance AppraisalChapter SummaryEngaging in the Learning ProcessKey ConceptsCritical Thinking QuestionsAppendix A: Test SpotlightsAppendix B: Guidelines for Critiquing a Psychological TestAppendix C: Code of Fair Testing Practices in EducationAppendix D: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of ConductAppendix E: Table of Critical Values for Pearson Product–Moment Correlation CoefficientsGlossaryReferencesAuthor IndexSubject Index

"The textbook provides an excellent, psychometrically-grounded introduction to using psychological tests in a variety of practical settings."