Psychological Testing
Psychological Testing
The authors had a lot of objectives for writing this article. They wrote the article to help researchers and those in the medical field to know the current variety of nonverbal IQ measures. It purposes to inform readers of many existing nonverbal IQ measures. Another reason for writing the article was to inform readers of the differences that existed between these many current nonverbal IQ measures. Eventually, they wrote this article to provide a recommendation that may help the researchers and those in the medical field make wise decisions when selecting nonverbal IQ measures. It was to help them in both selection and interpretation of nonverbal IQ measures.
The nonverbal intelligence tests were first designed and developed during the First World War. The nonverbal intelligence tests were designed to help measure the mental ability of a person without actually using language. They were also used anciently to measure the literacy level of individuals. It was done by using the nonverbal assessment tools. According to the research, the nonverbal IQ testing measures were designed to define a given population.
The nonverbal IQ tests are currently administered to individuals with hearing impairments, neurological damage, psychiatric conditions, learning disabilities, and those who are suffering from speech-language impairments. This is a group of people with special needs and therefore nonverbal IQ tests are best used with them to help them improve their cognitive abilities.
Verbal problem solving can be incorporated to help curb nonverbal problems. They help find out some language concerns that exist in a given population. They help identify the problems and look for the best measures to solve these problems. This is based on the ability of an individual to name given pictures, i.e. through the use of vocabulary tests, which puts into consideration the differential ability scale. This helps identify language abilities of different people, especially children. Verbal instructions are really vital when it comes to solving nonverbal problems. Verbal instructions are used in test administration and the respondent is allowed to respond nonverbally. For example, an individual may be allowed to respond nonverbally through actions such as pointing and providing hints to picture conclusion tests.
The following are some of the criteria used by the authors to evaluate the appropriateness of the normative samples used in psychological testing. The first criterion is the size of the sample. A large size of the children is preferred to minimize errors associated with a small sample and also help to represent every kind of children within a given sample. This ensures that every individual is accounted for through representation. Every child is represented within the size.
Another criterion used is representativeness. The representativeness of a given normative sample helps in assessing the usefulness of an instrument for any given population. Normative samples should be collected and then stratified so as to estimate the percentage populations. The ability to represent all the populations is achieved by stratifying the normative samples into certain variables first. For example, the variables can include ethnicity or geographical reason. The second rule states that the normative test needs to incorporate children with disabilities. This is to help choose the best test administration procedures. Best test procedures result in good results.
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Recency is also used to evaluate the appropriateness of a normative sample. The samples should be current to ensure that the emerging trends in IQ scores are incorporated. It should take into account the time taken for the emergence of these trends. This ensures that the sample is holistic in terms of the constituents of the normative sample.
There are certain psychometric factors used to identify the strength or weakness of an instrument.
Reliability is one of the factors. This is measured through a series of correlation coefficients to measure the degree of consistency of test scores across items, time, and test administrators. The availability of a standard error of each measurement also defines the level of reliability. An instrument that is strong is identified through reliability. The more reliable an instrument proves to be, the stronger it is and vice versa.
Validity is the second psychometric factor. It measures the utility of a test score in measuring what it has been designed to do. The utility is the satisfaction it brings to the user of the test score. The validity is defined by the foundation of the test instrument and the documentary evidence as given by various sources. The foundation of the instrument relies on the quality of the instrument.
The ultimate responsibility for appropriate test use and interpretation lies upon collection of an appropriate normative sample and documentation of adequate reliability and validity. This is because the appropriate normative sample ensures the right size, representativeness, and recency. Validity ensures that the test instrument used is of good quality and lasts. Reliability gives a hint of good instrument. This is because of consistency.
Considerations that the authors offer are to guide the selection of nonverbal IQ measures with assessment purposes. The authors suggest that the measure should be psychometrically sound. Another thing that should be considered is the potential special needs of the population. Lastly, there is the purpose of the evaluation. The evaluation should be result-oriented and low-result evaluations should be avoided. The main objectives of the evaluation should be clearly stated.
