Psychometric Concepts and Test Theory Questions and Answers Flashcards

In standardized testing, what does the 'basal rule' establish?

Answer: The entry-level below which all preceding items are credited as correct

The basal rule establishes that all items below the basal level are assumed correct, ensuring the examinee is not tested on items far below their ability level.

T-scores have a mean of ___ and a standard deviation of ___.

Answer: 50 and 10

T-scores are standardized to a mean of 50 and SD of 10, commonly used in personality assessment and many neuropsychological measures.

Which correlation coefficient value indicates the strongest reliability?

Answer: 0.92

Reliability coefficients range from 0 to 1.0; a value of 0.92 is the closest to 1.0 and therefore indicates the highest degree of consistency.

Age-equivalent scores are considered psychometrically problematic primarily because:

Answer: They imply equal intervals between units that may not exist

Age-equivalent scores falsely assume equal intervals, meaning a 1-year difference at age 6 is treated as equivalent to a 1-year difference at age 14, which is statistically unsound.

Scaled scores, as used for WAIS-IV subtests, have a mean of ___ and standard deviation of ___.

Answer: 10 and 3

Subtest scaled scores on instruments like the WAIS-IV use a mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3, typically ranging from 1 to 19.

'Regression to the mean' in psychological testing refers to:

Answer: Extreme scores on first testing tending to be less extreme on retesting

Regression to the mean describes the statistical tendency for very high or very low scores to move closer to the population mean upon retesting.

Internal consistency reliability is most commonly assessed using which statistic?

Answer: Cronbach's alpha

Cronbach's alpha measures internal consistency by assessing how highly interrelated a set of items are within a single test administration.