APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology. Vol. 3, Testing and assessment in school psychology and education

"The reliability and validity of information obtained from any psychological test is dependent on the scope and psychometric attributes of the instrument used. As in all areas of science, what psychologists discover depends on the quality of the instruments used and the information they provide as well as skillful interpretation of the test results. Better conceptualized instruments yield more accurate and informative data than do weaker instruments. Instruments that uncover more useful information about the individual being examined are more valid and ultimately better inform both researchers and clinicians. The tools school psychologists choose for diagnostic decision making substantially influence the reliability and validity of the information they obtain and the decisions they make. Simply put, the better the tool is, the more valid and reliable the decisions; the more useful the information obtained is, the better the services provided. In this chapter, some important issues regarding quality and effectiveness of the tools used in school psychology are discussed"--Book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). Read more... "The first section of the handbook covers psychometric aspects of testing. These aspects make up the quantitative underpinnings of testing and are applied, in various forms, in all applications of testing. Hubley and Zumbo provide a fine introduction to this section. After their chapter are chapters covering such traditional topics as reliability, validity, item analysis, equating and norming, test development strategies, factor analysis of test items and tests, the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, and evaluating tests themselves. Some newer topics are also included and represent fresher approaches to testing; these chapters include generalizability theory, item response theory, test fairness, the measurement of change, item banking, and ethical issues in testing. To be sure, many of those topics have been around for 50 years, but they rarely have much impact on introductory testing textbooks, for example. The chapters in the Types of Testing section relate to various types of testing; these chapters include material on objective testing and performance assessments in education, objective personality assessment, editing items to improve test quality, testing language skills, and fairness reviews of test items. A section on testing and assessment in industrial and organizational psychology shares the first volume with the Test Theory and Types of Testing sections. This section has several introductory chapters, beginning with John P. Campbell's fine overview chapter, which outlines current and future practices. Other general chapters include those on work (job) analysis techniques, important individual cognitive difference variables, and performance appraisal. These chapters are followed by chapters relating to the types of variables used in making selection and placement decisions: biographical information, leadership, interviews, personality assessments, work samples, situational judgment measures, and holistic assessments. This section concludes with a couple of chapters on aspects of personnel selection in the modern world: multinational organizations and legal concerns in the job context. A few chapters also detail on-the-job work behaviors: counterproductive work behavior, stereotype threat, job satisfaction and other attitudes, and surveying workers"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) "The first section of the handbook covers psychometric aspects of testing. These aspects make up the quantitative underpinnings of testing and are applied, in various forms, in all applications of testing. Hubley and Zumbo provide a fine introduction to this section. After their chapter are chapters covering such traditional topics as reliability, validity, item analysis, equating and norming, test development strategies, factor analysis of test items and tests, the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, and evaluating tests themselves. Some newer topics are also included and represent fresher approaches to testing; these chapters include generalizability theory, item response theory, test fairness, the measurement of change, item banking, and ethical issues in testing. To be sure, many of those topics have been around for 50 years, but they rarely have much impact on introductory testing textbooks, for example. The chapters in the Types of Testing section relate to various types of testing; these chapters include material on objective testing and performance assessments in education, objective personality assessment, editing items to improve test quality, testing language skills, and fairness reviews of test items. A section on testing and assessment in industrial and organizational psychology shares the first volume with the Test Theory and Types of Testing sections. This section has several introductory chapters, beginning with John P. Campbell's fine overview chapter, which outlines current and future practices. Other general chapters include those on work (job) analysis techniques, important individual cognitive difference variables, and performance appraisal. These chapters are followed by chapters relating to the types of variables used in making selection and placement decisions: biographical information, leadership, interviews, personality assessments, work samples, situational judgment measures, and holistic assessments. This section concludes with a couple of chapters on aspects of personnel selection in the modern world: multinational organizations and legal concerns in the job context. A few chapters also detail on-the-job work behaviors: counterproductive work behavior, stereotype threat, job satisfaction and other attitudes, and surveying workers"--Introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved) "The reliability and validity of information obtained from any psychological test is dependent on the scope and psychometric attributes of the instrument used. As in all areas of science, what psychologists discover depends on the quality of the instruments used and the information they provide as well as skillful interpretation of the test results. Better conceptualized instruments yield more accurate and informative data than do weaker instruments. Instruments that uncover more useful information about the individual being examined are more valid and ultimately better inform both researchers and clinicians. The tools school psychologists choose for diagnostic decision making substantially influence the reliability and validity of the information they obtain and the decisions they make. Simply put, the better the tool is, the more valid and reliable the decisions; the more useful the information obtained is, the better the services provided. In this chapter, some important issues regarding quality and effectiveness of the tools used in school psychology are discussed"--Book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) This three-volume handbook is a comprehensive presentation of the theory and application of tests in psychology and education. It begins with an in-depth portrayal of the quantitative underpinning of testing. It then provides thorough, up-to-date and informative chapters related to five general application areas of In each of these five areas, this handbook is probably the most comprehensive review of the use of testing and assessment in the subfield. "This volume of the APA Handbook of Testing and Assessment in Psychology covers testing and assessment in clinical and counseling psychology. Topics discussed include: general issues in testing and assessment in professional psychology, clinical and health psychology, and counseling psychology"--Book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) v. 1. Test theory and testing and assessment in industrial and organizational psychology v. 2. Testing and assessment in clinical and counseling psychology v. 3. Testing and assessment in school psychology and education.