Chapter 5
Standardized Measurement and Assessment

(For the concept map that goes with this chapter, click here.)

Defining Measurement

When we measure, we attempt to identify the dimensions, quantity, capacity, or degree of something.

• Measurement is formally defined as the act of measuring by assigning symbols or numbers to something according to a specific set of rules.

Measurement can be categorized by the type of information that is communicated by the symbols or numbers assigned to the variables of interest. In particular, there are four levels or types of information are discussed next in the chapter. They are called the four "scales of measurement."

Scales of Measurement

1. Nominal Scale.
This is a nonquantitative measurement scale.

• It is used to categorize, label, classify, name, or identify variables. It classifies groups or types.
• Numbers can be used to label the categories of a nominal variable but the numbers serve only as markers, not as indicators of amount or quantity (e.g., if you wanted to, you could mark the categories of the variable called "gender" with 1=female and 2=male).
• Some examples of nominal level variables are the country you were born in, college major, personality type, experimental group (e.g., experimental group or control group).

2.  Ordinal Scale.

This level of measurement enables one to make ordinal judgments (i.e., judgments about rank order).

• Any variable where the levels can be ranked (but you don't know if the distance between the levels is the same) is an ordinal variable.
• Some examples are order of finish position in a marathon, billboard top 40, rank in class.

3. Interval Scale.

• This scale or level of measurement has the characteristics of rank order and equal intervals (i.e., the distance between adjacent points is the same).
  It does not possess an absolute zero point.
• Some examples are Celsius temperature, Fahrenheit temperature, IQ scores.
• Here is the idea of the lack of a true zero point: zero degrees Celsius does not mean no temperature at all; in a Fahrenheit scale, it is equal to the freezing point or 32 degrees. Zero degrees in these scales does not mean zero or no temperature.

4. Ratio Scale.
This is a scale with a true zero point.

• It also has all of the "lower level" characteristics (i.e., the key characteristic of each of the lower level scales) of equal intervals (interval scale), rank order (ordinal scale), and ability to mark a value with a name (nominal scale).
• Some examples of ratio level scales are number correct, weight, height, response time, Kelvin temperature, and annual income.
• Here is an example of the presence of a true zero point: If your annual income is exactly zero dollars then you earned no annual income at all. (You can buy absolutely nothing with zero dollars.) Zero means zero.

Assumptions Underlying Testing and Measurement

Before I list the assumptions, note the difference between testing and assessment. According to the definitions that we use:

• Testing is the process of measuring variables by means of devices or procedures designed to obtain a sample of behavior and
• Assessment is the gathering and integration of data for the purpose of making an educational evaluation, accomplished through the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatus and measurement procedures.

In this section of the text, we also list the twelve assumptions that Cohen, et al. Consider basic to testing and assessment:

1. Psychological traits and states exist.

• A trait is a relatively enduring (i.e., long lasting) characteristic on which people differ; a state is a less enduring or more transient characteristic on which people differ.
• Traits and states are actually social constructions, but they are real in the sense that they are useful for classifying and organizing the world, they can be used to understand and predict behavior, and they refer to something in the world that we can measure.

2.  Psychological traits and states can be quantified and measured.

• For nominal scales, the number is used as a marker. For the other scales, the numbers become more and more quantitative as you move from ordinal scales (shows ranking only) to interval scales (shows amount, but lacks a true zero point) to ratio scales (shows amount or quantity as we usually understand this concept in mathematics or everyday use of the term).
• Most traits and states measured in education are taken to be at the interval level of measurement.

3.  Various approaches to measuring aspects of the same thing can be useful.

• For example, different tests of intelligence tap into somewhat different aspects of the construct of intelligence.

4.  Assessment can provide answers to some of life's most momentous questions.

• It is important that the users of assessment tools know when these tools will provide answers to their questions.

5.  Assessment can pinpoint phenomena that require further attention or study.

• For example, assessment may identify someone as having dyslexia or low self-esteem or at-risk for drug use.

6.  Various sources of data enrich and are part of the assessment process.

• Information from several sources usually should be obtained in order to make an accurate and informed decision. For example, the idea of portfolio assessment is useful.

7.  Various sources of error are always part of the assessment process.

• There is no such thing as perfect measurement. All measurement has some error.
• We defined error as the difference between a person’s true score and that person’s observed score.
• The two main types of error are random error (e.g., error due to transient factors such as being sick or tired) and systematic error (e.g., error present every time the measurement instrument is used such as an essay exam being graded by an overly easy grader). (Later when we discuss reliability and validity, you might note that unreliability is due to random error and lack of validity is due to systematic error.)

8.  Tests and other measurement techniques have strengths and weaknesses.

• It is essential that users of tests understand this so that they can use them appropriately and intelligently.
• In this chapter, we will be talking about the two major characteristics: reliability and validity.

9.  Test-related behavior predicts non-test-related behavior.

• The goal of testing usually is to predict behavior other than the exact behaviors required while the exam is being taken.
• For example, paper-and-pencil achievement tests given to children are used to say something about their level of achievement.
• Another paper-and-pencil test (also called a self-report test) that is popular in counseling is the MMPI (i.e., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory). Clients' scores on this test are used as indicators of the presence or absence of various mental disorders.
• The point here is that the actual mechanics of measurement (e.g., self-reports, behavioral performance, projective) can vary widely and still provide good measurement of educational, psychological, and other types of variables.

10.  Present-day behavior sampling predicts future behavior.

• Perhaps the most important reason for giving tests is to predict future behavior.

• Tests provide a sample of present-day behavior. However, this "sample" is used to predict future behavior.
• For example, an employment test given by someone in a Personnel Office may be used as a predictor of future work behavior.
• Another example: the Beck Depression Inventory is used to measure depression and, importantly, to predict test taker’s future behavior (e.g., are they a risk to themselves?).

11.  Testing and assessment can be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner.

• This requires careful construction of test items and testing of the items on different types of people.
• Test makers always have to be on the alert to make sure tests are fair and unbiased.
• This assumption also requires that the test be administered to those types of people for whom it has been shown to operate properly.

12.  Testing and assessment benefit society.

• Many critical decisions are made on the basis of tests (e.g., teacher competency, employability, presence of a psychological disorder, degree of teacher satisfactions, degree of student satisfaction, etc.).
• Without tests, the world would be much more unpredictable.

Identifying A Good Test or Assessment Procedure

As mentioned earlier in the chapter, good measurement us fundamental for research. If we do not have good measurement then we cannot have good research. That’s why it’s so important to use testing and assessment procedures that are characterized by high reliability and high validity.

Overview of Reliability and Validity

As an introduction to reliability and validity and how they are related, note the following:

• Reliability refers to the consistency or stability of test scores
• Validity refers to the accuracy of the inferences or interpretations we make from test scores
• Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity (i.e., if you are going to have validity, you must have reliability but reliability in and of itself is not enough to ensure validity.
• Assume you weigh 125 pounds. If you weigh yourself five times and get 135, 134, 134, 135, 136 then your scales are reliable but not valid. The scores were consistent but wrong! Again, you want your scales to be both reliable and valid.

Reliability

Reliability refers to consistency or stability. In psychological and educational testing, it refers to the consistency or stability of the scores that we get from a test or assessment procedure.

• Reliability is usually determined using a correlation coefficient (it is called a reliability coefficient in this context).
• Remember (from chapter two) that a correlation coefficient is a measure of relationship that varies from -1 to 0 to 1 and the farther the number is from zero, the stronger the correlation. For example, minus one (-1.00) indicates a perfect negative correlation, zero indicates no correlation at all, and positive one (+1.00) indicates a perfect positive correlation. Regarding strength, -.85 is stronger than +.55, and +.75 is stronger than +.35. When you have a negative correlation, the variables move in opposite directions (e.g., poor diet and life expectancy); when you have a positive correlation, the variables move in the same direction (e.g., education and income).
• When looking at reliability coefficients we are interested in the values ranging from 0 to 1; that is, we are only interested in positive correlations. Note that zero means no reliability, and +1.00 means perfect reliability.
• Reliability coefficients of .70 or higher are generally considered to be acceptable for research purposes. Reliability coefficients of .90 or higher are needed to make decisions that have impacts on people's lives (e.g., the clinical uses of tests).
• Reliability is empirically determined; that is, we must check the reliability of test scores with specific sets of people. That is, we must obtain the reliability coefficients of interest to us.

There are four primary ways to measure reliability.

1. The first type of reliability is called test-retest reliability.

· This refers to the consistency of test scores over time.

· It is measured by correlating the test scores obtained at one point in time with the test scores obtained at a later point in time for a group of people.

· A primary issue is identifying the appropriate time interval between the two testing occasions.

· The longer the time interval between the two testing occasions, the lower the reliability coefficient tends to be.

2. The second type of reliability is called equivalent forms reliability.

• This refers to the consistency of test scores obtained on two equivalent forms of a test designed to measure the same thing.
• It is measured by correlating the scores obtained by giving two forms of the same test to a group of people.
• The success of this method hinges on the equivalence of the two forms of the test.

3. The third type of reliability is called internal consistency reliability. 

• It refers to the consistency with which the items on a test measure a single construct.
• Internal consistency reliability only requires one administration of the test, which makes it a very convenient form of reliability.
• One type of internal consistency reliability is split-half reliability, which involves splitting a test into two equivalent halves and checking the consistency of the scores obtained from the two halves.
• The measure of internal consistency that we emphasize in the chapter is coefficient alpha. (It is also sometimes called Cronbach’s alpha.) The beauty of coefficient alpha is that it is readily provided by statistical analysis packages and it can be used when test items are quantitative and when they are dichotomous (as in right or wrong).
• Researchers use coefficient alpha when they want an estimate of the reliability of a homogeneous test (i.e., a test that measures only one construct or trait) or an estimate of the reliability of each dimension on a multidimensional test. You will see it commonly reported in empirical research articles.
• Coefficient alpha will be high (e.g., greater than .70) when the items on a test are correlated with one another. But note that the number of items also affects the strength of coefficient alpha (i.e., the more items you have on a test, the higher coefficient alpha will be). This latter point is important because it shows that it is possible to get a large alpha coefficient even when the items are not very homogeneous or internally consistent.

4. The fourth and last major type of reliability is called inter-scorer reliability.

• Inter-Scorer Reliability refers to the consistency or degree of agreement between two or more scorers, judges, or raters.
• You could have two judges rate one set of papers. Then you would just correlate their two sets of ratings to obtain the inter-scorer reliability coefficient, showing the consistency of the two judges’ ratings.

Validity

Validity refers to the accuracy of the inferences, interpretations, or actions made on the basis of test scores.

• Technically speaking, it is incorrect to say that a test is valid or invalid. It is the interpretations and actions taken based on the test scores that are valid or invalid.
• All of the ways of collecting validity evidence are really forms of what used to be called construct validity. All that means is that in testing and assessment, we are always measuring something (e.g., IQ, gender, age, depression, self-efficacy).

Validation refers to gathering evidence supporting some inference made on the basis of test scores.

There are three main methods of collecting validity evidence.

1. Evidence Based on Content

Content-related evidence is based on a judgment of the degree to which the items, tasks, or questions on a test adequately represent the domain of interest. Expert judgment is used to provide evidence of content validity.

To make a decision about content-related evidence, you should try to answer these three questions:

• Do the items appear to represent the thing you are trying to measure?
• Does the set of items underrepresent the construct’s content (i.e., have you excluded any important content areas or topics)?
• Do any of the items represent something other than what you are trying to measure (i.e., have you included any irrelevant items)?