Test Validity

CHAPTER THREE: Chapter Three was the beginning of how to create a test and what is needed for a test to be considered “good”. Two important factors that help determine if a test will be good is understanding norms and reliability. Figuring out a norm group for a test is really crucial because it is a sample of examinees who are the representative population of people the test is intended to measure. This information is important because you do not want to give a test that is meant for an age group of 3-6 year olds to someone who is 23; the test would not measure what it was intended to or get the right result. Also, it gives a guideline to where someone in the average range should be scoring and if they are not, figuring out a reason why …show more content…
Validity looks to see if a test measures what it is supposed to measure and if the test does not then it is not valid and should not be used. There are numerous types of test validity discussed in this chapter, but the one that stuck out to me the most was face validity. Face validity just looks to see if the test looks like what it is supposed, but it is important to remember that just because it looks valid does not mean it is. I believe this stood out to me the most because of all the online quizzes that are very popular right now; they are most likely not valid, but they look valid. I can see how easy it would be for someone who does not know a lot about testing, believe those tests are valid and really take to heart what the tests are saying. That could create an issue for some people and have a negative effect on them if the test said something bad. Face validity is good, but other validity techniques should be used above …show more content…
This is important to remember because the test results will give you information, but it does not make decisions for you. Sometimes people put all their eggs in a basket when it comes to testing and that the test will make it or break it for you, but the test only gives you results, where what is important is the choices made from the results. Going into bioethics, I found this really important and it stuck with me through the semester. The information I could get from a test will not directly say this is not ethical and is wrong, but rather I will get results to help go along with my decision. Tests and decisions are not always accurate and those decisions can have a large impact on not only yourself, but others, especially as a