Practical Psychometrics: A Guide for Test Users

✍ Scribed by Benjamin J. Lovett

• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 227
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This is the first practitioner-oriented guide to basic psychometrics--the science behind test construction and validation. It is an essential course text and clinical reference for anyone who needs to select and administer diagnostic tests or review test score data obtained by others. Without assuming any mathematical background, the author describes the fundamentals of diagnostic testing, how to interpret score data, and how specific tests are used in school psychology, special education, counseling, and other contexts. Concepts such as reliability, validity, and fairness and test bias are explained in an accessible, conversational way. Detailed case examples illustrate the dos and don'ts of presenting test score data to clients, parents, and teachers in oral feedback and written reports.
 
Pedagogical Features:
End-of-chapter exercises that emphasize application and understanding, with answers at the end of the book.
Key terms are bolded throughout and accessibly explained in the end-of-book glossary. 
*Resource appendix--annotated guide to articles and books on more advanced topics in psychometrics, assessment, and testing.
 

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Contents
1. Introduction to Testing
Four Testing Stories
A Preview of the Book
Basic Terms in Testing
Tests as Assessment Tools
2. Statistical Concepts
Univariate Descriptive Statistics
Bivariate Descriptive Statistics: Correlation and Regression
Group Differences
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
3. The Meaning of Test Scores
Norm-Referenced Scores
What’s Normal? What’s Not?
Issues in Norm-Referenced Score Interpretation
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
4. Reliability
Defining Reliability
Evaluating a Test’s Reliability: Background
Practical Ways of Estimating Reliability
Interpreting and Applying Reliability Estimates
Reliability of Differences and Profiles
Item Response Theory
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
5. Validity
Tests, Constructs, and Inferences
Types of Validity Evidence
Validity and Classification
Evaluating Validity Evidence
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
6. Factor Analysis
EFA: A Few Motivating Examples
Reviewing EFA Data
Factor Analysis and Diagnostic Testing
Factor Analysis and Validity
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
7. Bias and Fairness
The Problem of Group Differences
Test Bias and Psychometric Validity
Contrasting Bias with Other Problems
Fairness in Test Use
Conclusions
Applied Exercises
8. Sharing Test Results
The Oral Feedback Session
The Written Report
Conclusions
Appendix A. Resources for Further Study
Appendix B. Answers for Applied Exercises
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author