PSYC37H3 Chapter 1: PSYC37 Chapter 1- Introduction
Document Summary
A test is a measurement device or technique used to quantify behaviour or aid in the understanding and prediction of behaviour. For example, a spelling test measures how well someone spells or the extent to which someone has learned to spell a specific list of words. Test scores are not perfect measures of a behaviour or characteristic, but they do add significantly to the prediction process. An item is a specific stimulus to which a person responds overtly; this response can be scored or evaluated (ex: classified, graded on a scale, or counted). Since psychological and educational tests are made up of items, the data they produce are explicit and hence subject to scientific inquiry. Items are the specific questions or problems that make up a test. The overt response would be to fill in or blacken one of the spaces:
