Historical, Cultural, and Ethical

• Both the assessor and the assessee are sources of error variance.
• Random error in testing can be due to room temperature, noise, and other factors.
• The Standards advise that the least stigmatizing labels should always be assigned when reporting test results.
• There are occasions when a court can order the disclosure of certain information necessary for the administration of justice.
• Systematic error in testing can be due to problems with the test paper, spelling, and other factors.
• Test constructions, test administration, and test scoring and interpretation are potential sources of error variance.
• The assessor, measuring instrument, and random error such as luck are potential sources of error variance.
• According to Classical Test Theory, each test taker has a true score on a test that would be obtained but for the action of measurement error or error variance.
• Testing and Assessment can be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner if the test is used with people for whom it was not intended, if the test was not applicable for them but they still took it, or if they took it just because it was a requirement for their job but not applicable to them.
• Testing and Assessment benefit society as there is a great need for tests, however, there is still a group of people who don’t see psychological tests as a need or requirement.
• Tests and testing programs first came into being in China as early as 2200 BCE.
• Charles Darwin argued that chance variation in species would be selected or rejected by nature according to adaptivity and survival value.
• Francis Galton aspired to classify people “according to their natural gifts” and to ascertain their “deviation from an average”.
• Karl Pearson developed the product-moment correlation technique, its roots can be traced directly to the work of Galton.
• Wilhelm Max Wundt focused on how people were similar, not different.
• James McKeen Cattell is credited with coining the term “mental test” in 1890.
• Charles Spearman is credited with originating the concept of test reliability as well as building the mathematical framework for the statistical technique of factor analysis.
• State statutes have extended the concept of privileged information to parties who communicate with each other in the context of certain relationships.
• Computer-assisted psychological assessment (CAPA) involves the purchase of tests on disc or administration and scoring online.
• Computerized test administration, scoring, and interpretation are becoming more common due to the convenience and range of potential testing activities they bring to the testing industry.
• If the test results, findings, or recommendations made on the basis of test data are voided for any reason (such as irregularities in the test administration), testtakers have a right to know that as well.
• The concept of the privacy right “recognizes the freedom of the individual to pick and choose for himself the time, circumstances, and particularly the extent to which he wishes to share or withhold from others his attitudes, beliefs, behavior, and opinions” (Shah, 1969, p. 57)
• Testtakers are entitled to know what recommendations are being made as a consequence of the test data.
• Confidentiality may be distinguished from privilege in that, whereas “confidentiality concerns matters of communication outside the courtroom, privilege protects clients from disclosure in judicial proceedings” (Jagim et al., 1978, p. 459)
• Testtakers have a right to know why they are being evaluated, how the test data will be used, and what (if any) information will be released to whom.
• A growing number of Internet sites purport to provide, usually for a fee, online psychological tests.
• From time to time, the American Psychological Association (APA) has published special guidelines for professionals who have occasion to assess, treat, conduct research with, or otherwise consult with members of certain populations.
• Privilege is not absolute.
• Many tests available for computerized administration also come with computerized scoring and interpretation procedures.
• Testtakers have a right to be informed, in language they can understand, of the nature of the findings with respect to a test they have taken.
• Victor Henri was a Frenchman who would collaborate with Alfred Binet on papers suggesting how mental tests could be used to measure higher mental processes.
• Level C tests and aids require substantial understanding of testing and supporting psychological fields together with supervised experience in the use of these devices.
• In assessment, one way of implementing affirmative action is by altering test-scoring procedures according to set guidelines.
• Level B tests or aids require some technical knowledge of test construction and use and of supporting psychological and educational fields such as statistics, individual differences, psychology of adjustment, personnel psychology, and guidance.
• According to this view, scores on a test of job ability should be influenced only by job-related variables.
• If a test is used to evaluate a candidate’s ability to do a job, one point of view is that the test should do just that — regardless of the group membership of the testtaker.
• A collectivist culture, typically associated with the dominant culture in many countries throughout Asia, Latin America, and Africa, values traits such as conformity, cooperation, interdependence, and striving toward group goals.
• Litigation rules governing citizens’ behavior stem not only from legislatures but also from interpretations of existing law in the form of decisions handed down by courts.
• A code of professional ethics defines the standard of care expected of members of a profession.
• An individualist culture, typically associated with the dominant culture in countries such as the United States and Great Britain, is characterized by value being placed on traits such as self-reliance, autonomy, independence, uniqueness, and competitiveness.