Principles of test construction and standardization- Item
analysis, reliability, validity and development of norms
1. What is Test Construction and Standardization?
In psychology, tests are tools used to measure things like intelligence, personality, skills, or
attitudes. To make sure these tests work well, psychologists follow certain principles when
creating (constructing) and standardizing them.
• Test construction: Designing and developing the test items/questions.
• Standardization: Making the test consistent so it can be used fairly with different
people.
2. Item Analysis
Item analysis is a process used to check how well each question (item) on the test is
performing.
Why do we do item analysis?
• To find out if each question is clear and useful.
• To remove or improve questions that don’t work well.
How does it work?
Two key statistics are used:
• Item Difficulty: How hard or easy is the question?
o It’s usually the percentage of people who answer it correctly.
o For example, if 90% of people get an item right, it’s an easy question; if only
20% get it right, it’s hard.
• Item Discrimination: How well does the question differentiate between high
scorers and low scorers?
o Good questions should be answered correctly more often by people who do
well on the whole test.
o Discrimination is calculated by comparing top performers and low
performers on the test.
In summary:
• Items that are too easy, too hard, or don’t discriminate well might be dropped or
revised.
3. Reliability
Reliability means how consistent and stable the test results are.
Why is reliability important?
• If you take the test twice (or give it to similar groups), you want similar results.
• Reliable tests give consistent, trustworthy scores.
Types of Reliability:
• Test-Retest Reliability: Give the test twice to the same group at different times and
check if scores are similar.
• Internal Consistency Reliability: Check if all items on the test measure the same
thing and give consistent results (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha).
• Inter-Rater Reliability: For tests scored by judges/observers, check if different
raters give similar scores.
How to improve reliability?
• Use clear questions.
• Have enough items (longer tests are often more reliable).
• Standardize instructions and conditions.
4. Validity
Validity means how well the test measures what it is supposed to measure.
Types of Validity:
• Content Validity: Does the test cover the entire topic or concept?
(Example: A math test should cover all important math skills intended to be
measured.)
• Construct Validity: Does the test really measure the psychological trait (construct)
like intelligence, anxiety, or creativity?
o Established through research and comparing test results with theory.
• Criterion-related Validity: Does the test predict real-world outcomes or behaviors?
o Predictive validity: Can test scores predict future performance?
o Concurrent validity: Does the test correlate well with other established
tests measuring the same thing?
Why is validity important?
• A test might be reliable but invalid (consistent but measuring the wrong thing).
• Valid tests provide meaningful and useful results.
5. Development of Norms
Norms are average scores and standards developed from a large, representative sample of
people.
Why do we need norms?
• To interpret individual test scores by comparing them with the average.
• Norms tell us what is "typical" or "average" performance.
How are norms developed?
• Administer the test to a large, diverse group of people (called the normative
sample).
• Calculate average scores, ranges, percentiles, and standard deviations.
• These norms help categorize scores (e.g., above average, below average).
Types of Norms:
• Age norms: Typical scores for different age groups.
• Grade norms: Typical scores for school grades.
• Percentile ranks: What percentage scored below a particular score.
Summary
Principle What it means Why it matters
Check quality of each test
Item Analysis Remove or fix bad questions
question
Reliability Consistency of test results Ensure dependable scores
Ensure meaningful and useful
Validity Test measures what it claims
results
Development of Creating average scores from a Compare individual scores to
Norms big group typical scores
Types of Psychological Tests- Individual, group, performance,
verbal, nonverbal
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