The mission of The Center for Excellence in Education at Northern Arizona University is to prepare education professionals to create the schools of tomorrow.

The mission of The Center for Excellence in Education at Northern Arizona University is to prepare education professionals to create the schools of tomorrow.

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

Center for Excellence in Education

EPS 664

(Tests and Measurement)

Summer 2002

General Information

Instructor: Dr. John R. McClure	Phone: 523-0578
Office: 154 Eastburn	e-mail: john.mcclure@nau.edu
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon	Class times: Monday through Friday 9:00-10:45 AM

Course Description

Measuring psychological characteristics is an important aspect of many professions. This is especially true for professionals in education, psychology and counseling. Data from psychological measures are used to make many decisions. The purpose of this course is to provide a conceptual foundation that will improve your ability to construct, use and make decisions from measures of various psychological constructs. A psychological construct is a mental or psychological characteristic that is inferred from a pattern of behaviors. A few examples of psychological constructs include: academic achievement (knowledge), aptitude, and personality.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, students will:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the nature of psychological tests and testing.

2. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and interpret test scores.

3. Demonstrate knowledge of the concept of reliability.

4. Demonstrate the ability to apply techniques for estimating the reliability of tests.

5. Demonstrate the ability to apply estimates of reliability to the interpretation of tests scores.

6. Demonstrate knowledge of the concept of validity.

7. Demonstrate knowledge of the methods used to collect evidence of validity.

8. Demonstrate the ability to apply evidence to the evaluation of the validity of decisions.

9. Demonstrate knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of different assessment techniques.

10. Demonstrate the ability to apply elementary techniques of item analysis.

11. Demonstrate knowledge of the general characteristics of tests of mental ability.

12. Demonstrate knowledge of the general characteristics of measures of personality.

13. Demonstrate knowledge of the issues related to the ethical use of psychological tests.

Course Structure

Class sessions will typically follow a lecture discussion format; however, when appropriate, I may utilize video or film presentations, demonstrations and group activities.

Readings and Required Text

Required Text: Anastasi, A and Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological Testing, 7th Edition. Printice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Additionally, relevant and timely articles may be assigned and placed on reserve in the Curriculum Lab.

Course Requirements

Class attendance and participation are required. If you are absent for any reason I expect that you will communicate that reason to me in a timely fashion. When possible you should notify me in advance of any absence. You are responsible for the material covered on any missed days. Scheduled examinations, missed for appropriate reasons will be made up without penalty. Missed quizzes may not be made up, but will be forgiven if class was missed for an appropriate cause. I reserve the right to consider your attendance and participation patterns when assigning final grades. Participation is defined as relevant and consistent contribution in class discussions.

Readings: The assigned readings are to be completed prior to the class period for which they are assigned. Familiarity with the concepts from the readings will facilitate your comprehension of lecture material and enhance your potential for class participation.

Assignments: Participation in this course includes participation in three examinations, two mid-terms and a final. All examinations will be cumulative. Preparation and participation in these examinations are an integral part of the learning experience and also serve as a basis for your performance evaluation.

Mid-term Examinations. There will be two mid-term examinations. Each mid-term exam will comprise of an in-class and take-home portion. The in-class exam will be multiple choice and the take-home portion will be short answer and problems requiring calculation.

Final Examination. There will be a final examination. The final examination will follow the same format as the mid-term examinations.

Evaluation Methods

Grading: Grades will be awarded based on the percentage of possible points attained by each student. In cases where a student's accumulated point total is within 1 point of the cut-off between letter grades, the instructor will use class attendance and participation to make a determination of the final grade. Students may earn points as follows:

Assignment	Points	Date Due/Scheduled
Mid-term Exam 1	100 points	7/19
Mid-term Exam 2	100 points	7/29
Take-home Final	200 points	8/7
Total Possible	400 points

The final grades will be determined based on a percentage of the total possible points as follows: A=90% to 100%, B=80%-89%, C=70%-79, D=60%-69, F æ 59%.

Course Policies

1. If you are unable to take an examination at the regularly scheduled time, you must contact me in advance to secure my permission.

2. All written assignments must be typed or word processed. Grades for written assignments will consider: mechanical characteristics (spelling, grammar, etc.), the organization and coherence of ideas and arguments, and the accuracy of content and assertions. No papers will be accepted that are not in the proper format. Papers are to be double spaced with 1 to 1 inch margins. The exception is calculations which may be neatly hand written.

3. Written assignments must be submitted on the due date to receive full credit. Late assignments will be penalized 10% for each working day late.

4. In the event of an unusual final point distribution, the final point requirements may be lowered. This will be solely at my discretion.

5. Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, cheating on tests, or lying about work involved in class. The policies in the NAU Student Handbook apply to such situations.

Topics Readings and Tentative Due Dates

The list of topics, scheduled below, is tentative. I reserve the right to modify the schedule based on contingencies that may arise as the semester progresses.

Date

Topics

Readings

7/8

Course Introduction:

Objectives:

∑ Review course structure and objectives.

∑ Self-assessment of pre-requisite knowledge.

Course Syllabus

Date	Topics	Readings
7/9	The nature of psychological tests and testing Objectives: ∑ Define the term, ≥psychological construct.≤ ∑ Define the nature and characteristics of psychological tests. ∑ List the uses of psychological tests. ∑ List the varieties of psychological tests.	Text, Chapters 1 and 2
7/10	Analysis and Interpretation of test scores Objectives: ∑ Define the concept of scales. ∑ List and discuss the four types of scales. ∑ Discuss the nature of scales commonly used for psychological tests. ∑ List and define the types of references used for the interpretation of test results.	Text, Chapter 3
7/11	Analysis and Interpretation of test scores (Continued) Objectives: ∑ Define and discuss the characteristics of frequency distributions. ∑ Discuss the characteristics of normal distributions.	Text, Chapter 3
7/12	Introduction to Reliability Objectives: ∑ Define reliability from the perspective of the true score model. Compare and contrast the true-score model of reliability with the generalizability theory. Define objectivity and discuss its relationship with reliability. List and discuss factors that are likely to affect the reliability of data.	Text, Chapter 4 and Philips (2000)
7/15	Estimating reliability Objective: ∑ List and discuss different techniques for estimating reliability..	Text, Chapter 4 and Suen
7/16	Estimating reliability (Continued) Objective: ∑ Select and apply appropriate techniques for estimating reliability.	Text, Chapter 4

Date	Topics	Readings
7/17	Applying estimates of reliability Objectives: ∑ Define standard error of measurement (SEM). ∑ Give appropriate information to calculate SEMπs. ∑ Use SEMπs to construct confidence intervals. ∑ Define Standard Error of Difference. ∑ Calculate Standard Error of Difference.	Text, Chapter 4
7/18	Practice and review
7/19	Mid-term Examination 1
7/22	Introduction to Validity Objectives: ∑ Define validity. ∑ Identify validity concerns associated with educational and psychological decisions. ∑ Define and discuss content-description validation. ∑ Define face validity. ∑ Define criterion-prediction validation. ∑ Compare and contrast concurrent and predictive validation.	Text, Chapter 5
7/23	Introduction to Validity (Continued) Objectives: ∑ List and discuss construct identification procedures. ∑ Define and discuss cross validation.	Text, Chapter 5
7/24	Evaluating the validity of decisions Objectives: ∑ Define and discuss the concept of the validity coefficient. ∑ Define and calculate standard error of measurement. ∑ List and discuss techniques for combining information from different tests.	Text, Chapter 6

Date	Topics	Readings
7/25	Evaluating the validity of decisions (cont.) Objectives: ∑ Compare and contrast three types of decisions: selection, placement and classification. ∑ Define ≥false accepts,≤ ≥false rejects≤ and ≥selection ratio.≤ ∑ Calculate the expected utility of a decision strategy. ∑ Define the concept of test bias. ∑ Compare and contrast test bias and fairness.	Text, Chapter 6
7/26	Test Bias and Fairness Objectives: ∑ Define the concept of test bias. ∑ Compare and contrast test bias and fairness. ∑ Practice and Review.	Text, Chapter 6
7/29	Mid-term Examination 2
7/30	Test Construction, Selecting Items Objectives: ∑ List the steps of test construction. ∑ Define and discuss alternative response items. ∑ Define and discuss constructed response items. ∑ Compare and contrast alternative response and constructed response items in terms of objectivity and their effects on the reliability of data and the validity of decisions.	Text, Chapter 7
7/31	Test Construction, Item Analysis Objectives: ∑ Define item difficulty and item discrimination. ∑ Use item difficulty and item discrimination to analyze test items. ∑ Define and discuss item response theory. ∑ List and discuss the basic parameters of an item characteristic curve. ∑ Define and discuss differential item functions as they relate to item bias.	Text, Chapter 7

Date	Topics	Readings
8/1	Assessing Mental Ability Objectives: ∑ Define the psychological constructs related to mental ability. ∑ Compare and contrast aptitude and achievement measures. ∑ Discuss the evidence for general mental ability. ∑ Discuss the psychometric characteristics of tests of mental ability.	Text, Chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11
8/2	Issues Related to the Assessment of Mental Ability Objectives: ∑ Discuss the relationship between measures of mental ability and age. ∑ Define and discuss the Flynn effect. ∑ Discuss the use of tests of mental ability in high stakes decisions.	Text, Chapter 18
8/5	Assessing Personality Objectives: ∑ Define personality and a psychological construct. ∑ Define interest as a psychological construct. ∑ Discuss the psychometric characteristics of different methods of assessing personality.	Text, Chapters 13, 14 and 16
8/6	Issues related to the Assessment of Personality Objectives: ∑ Discuss the ethical responsibility of test users. ∑ Discuss the ethical responsibilities of test publishers. ∑ Discuss the use of personality assessments in high stakes decisions.	Text, Chapter 18
8/7	Final Examination