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Chapter 1

History of

Testing and Assessment

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Distinguishing Between Testing and Assessment

Tests are a subset of assessment yielding scores based collective data (e.g., finding the sum of correct items on a multiple-choice exam).

Assessment procedures can be:

Formal. Rigor in test development (e.g., good valid, and reliable)

Informal. Rigor has not been demonstrated in the test development

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Testing Vs. AssessmentAssessment includes:

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Historical Context: Ancient

2200 B.C.E Chinese used essay examinations for civil service employees

Plato (428 – 327 B.C.E) noted: Greeks assessed intellectual and physical

ability of men when screening for state service

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Historical Context: Precursors to Modern-Day

Esquirol (1830's). Used language ability to identify intelligence Retardation on continuum: “idiocy” to low grade

normals Forerunner of verbal intelligence testing

Seguin (1800's). Worked with individuals with mentally

retardation to increase motor control and sensory discrimination

Developed “Form Board” Forerunner of performance intelligence testing

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Historical Context: Precursors to Modern-Day (Cont’d)

Understanding uniqueness of the humans: Darwin (mid 1800s):

Theory of evolution Set tone for others who followed

Galton: (late 1800s, Darwin’s cousin) English biologist who examined differences in

sensory motor activities Wundt (1879).

Founded 1st psychological laboratory Looked at sensitivity to visual, auditory, and other

sensory stimuli and reaction time

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Historical Context: Precursors to Modern-Day (Cont’d)

Understanding uniqueness of the humans (Cont’d): Cattell (late 1800s; Am. Psychologist)

Phrased term "mental test" Used statistical concepts to understand

differences

G. S. Hall (late 1800s) Experimental lab at Johns Hopkins Mentor to many First president of American Psychological

Association

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Emergence of Ability Testing(Testing in the Cognitive Domain)

Three areas: Individual Intelligence Testing Neuropsychological Assessment Group Tests of Ability

Individual Intelligence Testing Binet (1890's)

Hired by French Ministry of Ed. To integrate “sub-normal” children into the schools

Developed first modern-day intelligence test

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Emergence of Ability Testing (Cont’d)

Individual Intelligence Testing (Cont’d) Terman (At Stanford)

Revised Binet scale-- Stanford-Binet I.Q.=MA/CA (See Box 1.1, p. 7)

Neuropsychological Assessment Head injuries: 5,000-year-old Egyptian medical documents WWI: Increased interest in brain injuries 20th century: development of braining imaging techniques Today: Suspected changes in brain function yields

neurospychological assessment

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Emergence of Ability Testing (Cont’d)

Group Testing: WWI: Army Alpha and Army Beta

Developed by Yerkes, Terman, and others Take Army Alpha (Box 1.2. p. 8) Used by Eugenics Movement (Read Box 1.3, p. 10)

After WWII: SATs: Developed by James Bryant Conant to

equalize educational opportunities for all Vocational counseling led to special aptitude tests

and multiple aptitude tests

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Emergence of Ability Testing (Cont’d)

Group Testing (Cont’d): 1923: Edward Thorndike

Stanford Achievement Test

Frank Parsons Vocational Counseling Multiple Aptitude Tests (Group Tests of Ability

Focused on Job Attainment) E.g., GATB: U.S. Employment Services

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Emergence of Personality Tests(Tests in the Affective Realm)

Interest Inventories and Vocational Assessment Thorndike and Miner: Early assessors of interests

(early 1900s) Strong (1927): Strong Vocational Interest Blank

Objective Personality Assessment Kraeplin (1892): Word association test to study

schizophrenia Woodworth's Personal Data Sheet (WWI)

Kept “unfit” out of army Items related to neuroticism Forerunner to MMPI. (see Box 1.4, p. 12)

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Emergence of Personality Assessment (Cont’d)

Projective Testing Galton (1879) and projective testing:

“Experiments such as these allow an unexpected amount of illumination to enter into the deepest recess of the character, which are opened and bared by them like the anatomy of an animal under the scalpel of a dissector in broad daylight.” (p. 12 of text)

Cattell: Examined associations made by “healthy people” to a standard list of words

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Emergence of Personality Assessment (Cont’d)

Projective Testing (Cont’d) Carl Jung (1904)

156 stimulus words to which individuals would respond—to detect ”complexes”

Herman Rorschach (early 1900s)

Inkblot Test Henry Murray’s

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

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Emergence of Informal Assessment Procedures

Twentieth Century: Situational Tests: “Contrived naturalistic situations” Clinical Interview DSM-IV-TR (1st developed in 1952) Observation Rating Scales Classification Techniques Records and Personal Documents Environmental Assessment Performance-based Assessment

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Modern-Day Use of Assessment Procedures

Computers: Statistical procedures has increased the quality of tests

Today, can view tests in the following categories:

Testing in the cognitive domain, often called “ability testing”

Testing in the affective domain, usually called "personality assessment”

Informal assessment procedures

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Graph of Ability Assessment (Figure 1.2)

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Graph of Personality Assessment (Figure 1.3)

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Graph of Informal Assessment (Fig. 1.4)

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Terms to Memorize

See Box 1.5, pp. 15-16

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Questions to Consider When Assessing People

How valid is the information gained from assessment instruments and how should that information be applied?

How do assessment instruments invade an individual’s privacy and does the government have, at times, the right to insist an individual be assessed?

Can the use of assessment instruments, in some cases, lead to labeling and what are the implications for the individuals who are “labeled.”

Are assessment procedures used to foster equality for ALL people, or do they tend to create a society based on class.