Deck 2: Basic Assessment Principles

Question 1

Ranking your classmates on their performance on an exam is an example of what type of scale?

A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio

Answer 1

ordinal

Question 2

In norm-referenced assessment, the word norm refers to:

A)The group of individuals who took the instrument, to which others' scores are later compared
B)The group of individuals who received an average, or normal, score on the instrument
C)The mean score on the instrument
D)The standard deviation of the instrument

Answer 2

The group of individuals who took the instrument, to which others' scores are later compared

Question 3

When scores in a distribution are averaged, the statistic is called the:

A)mean
B)mode
C)median
D)standard deviation

Answer 3

mean

Question 4

In a distribution of scores, what do we call the score that occurs most frequently?

A)mean
B)mode
C)median
D)standard deviation

Question 5

What is one drawback of using the range as a measure of variability?

A)It is more difficult to calculate than standard deviation
B)It can only be meaningfully interpreted by expert clinicians
C)It is only useful in research applications
D)It can be significantly influenced by extreme scores

Question 6

For the following questions use these test scores:
Person A = 12
B = 10
C = 9
D = 8
E = 6
The range is:

A)6
B)12
C)9
D)18

Question 7

The most widely used statistic of variability in measurement is the:

A)range
B)semi-interquartile range
C)standard deviation
D)mean

Question 8

The correct order of the following scales of measurement, from least precise to most precise, is:

A)ordinal, nominal interval, ratio
B)nominal, interval, ordinal, ratio
C)ordinal, nominal, ratio, interval
D)nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio

Question 9

Which of these constructs cannot be measured using a ratio scale?

A)height
B)temperature
C)number of children in a family
D)driving speed

Question 10

What is the point on the scale that has an equal number of scores above and below it?

A)median
B)mean
C)mode
D)standard deviation

Question 11

What is the relationship between variance and standard deviation?

A)Variance is the square root of standard deviation.
B)Standard deviation is the square root of variance.
C)Variance is a type of standard deviation.
D)There is no relationship between variance and standard deviation.

Question 12

For the following questions use these test scores:
Person A = 12
B = 10
C = 9
D = 8
E = 6
The median is:

A)6
B)12
C)9
D)18

Question 13

Norm-referenced instruments are most useful for:

A)determining if an individual has mastered certain material.
B)establishing minimum levels of competence.
C)comparing an individual's performance with other individuals.
D)comparing performance to a standard.

Question 14

Which of the following characteristics is NOT true of a nominal scale?

A)The intent of a nominal scale is to name an object
B)It is the most basic of the measurement scales
C)It is possible to determine the mean of nominally scaled variables
D)It is only possible to calculate the percentage or frequency of items/individuals that fall within a certain category

Question 15

Interval scales are characterized by:

A)rank order data
B)the ability to determine ratios
C)classification by group
D)equal intervals

Question 16

An academic achievement test is developed to measure mastery of a multiplication table.Mastery is defined as getting 100% of the multiplication items correct.This instrument is an example of a:

A)norm-referenced test
B)criterion-referenced test
C)standardized test
D)performance test

Question 17

With a norm-referenced instrument, it is important that the clinician evaluates:

A)the size of the norming group.
B)the suitability of the norming sample in terms of age, gender, ethnic makeup, socioeconomic representation, educational level, and geographic location.
C)the procedures used the select the norming sample (e.g., random sampling, cluster sampling)
D)all of the above

Question 18

Norm-referenced instruments are to criterion-referenced instruments as:

A)mastery is to teacher constructed
B)reliability is to validity
C)good is to bad
D)group comparison is to individual level of performance

Question 19

A frequency polygon is a:

A)statistical test of significance.
B)representation of grade equivalent scores.
C)graphic representation of the frequency of scores.
D)graph of the validity evidence for an instrument.

Question 20

If a test taker made a score of 40 on a 100-item test, what interpretation can we make of this score?

A)the score lies at the 40th percentile
B)the test taker did poorly because he or she only got 40% of the items correct
C)the test taker's performance was below the median of the test
D)nothing can be interpreted without additional information

Question 21

For the following questions use these test scores:
Person A = 12
B = 10
C = 9
D = 8
E = 6
The mean is:

A)5
B)9
C)6
D)8

Question 22

Which of the following is not in the same category as the others?

A)T scores
B)stanines
C)z- scores
D)raw scores

Question 23

Which standard scores always have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10?

A)T-scores
B)stanines
C)z-scores
D)deviation IQs

Question 24

What are all standard scores based on?

A)percentiles
B)T-scores
C)stanines
D)z-scores

Question 25

If the sampling procedure used to draw the norming group used whole classrooms rather than selecting individuals, that procedure would be:

A)simple random sampling
B)stratified sampling
C)cluster sampling
D)group sampling
Discussion Questions

Question 26

For the following questions use these test scores:
Person A = 12
B = 10
C = 9
D = 8
E = 6
The variance is:

A)20
B)5
C)4
D)2

Question 27

In a stratified sample:

A)every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
B)individuals are selected based on certain demographic characteristics.
C)whole classrooms or units are used rather than individuals.
D)individuals are selected to represent several different groups.

Question 28

Which standard scores always have a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1?

A)T-scores
B)stanines
C)z-scores
D)deviation IQs

Question 29

Other things being equal, which of the following represents the highest level of achievement?

A)Percentile of 60
B)z-score of .60
C)T-score of 60
D)the above answers are all equal

Question 30

If the scores on a distribution are mostly high and the mean is lower than the median and mode, then the distribution would be called:

A)positively skewed
B)negatively skewed
C)ordinally distributed
D)normally distributed

Question 31

If Sally has a percentile score of 53, you would interpret this score saying that:

A)53 percent of the items were correctly answered.
B)Sally's performance equaled that of 53 percent of the group tested.
C)53 percent of the group tested had a score at or below Sally's.
D)53 percent of the group tested had a score at or above Sally's.

Question 32

Percentile scores are:

A)the percent of people who had a score at or below a given raw score.
B)the percentage of items answered correctly on a test.
C)a method of converting raw scores to standard scores.
D)equal to z-scores.

Question 33

A normalized distribution of scores has:

A)a single peak in the center and the same score for the mean, mode, and median.
B)no peak, thus measures of central tendency are not relevant.
C)has two equidistant peaks with the same score for the mean, mode, and median between peaks.
D)a single peak in the center but the scores for the mean, mode, and median can vary.

Question 34

Approximately what percent of the norming group in a normal distribution falls between two standard deviations below the mean and two standard deviations above the mean?

A)13.98%
B)68%
C)95%
D)99.5%

Question 35

When a test is very difficult for a group of examinees, the frequency distribution of their scores will probably be:

A)bi-modal
B)positively skewed
C)negatively skewed
D)normally distributed

Question 36

An instrument had a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.Robert took this instrument and his raw score was 70.What would Robert's corresponding z-score be?

A).70
B)-1.00
C)2.00
D)-2.00

Question 37

For the following questions use these test scores:
Person A = 12
B = 10
C = 9
D = 8
E = 6
The standard deviation is:

A)20
B)5
C)4
D)2

Question 38

Which of the following statements is most accurate concerning stanines?

A)Stanines are the best standard score to use because of the level of precision in determining the scores.
B)Stanines can be misunderstood because individuals do not understand that they represent a range of scores.
C)Stanine scores take into consideration the reliability of the instrument.
D)Stanines are an accurate measure of individuals' rankings using seven levels of competency.

Question 39

The word ___________ is often used to refer to the group that is actually being tested, which is drawn from the larger group of interest known as the ______________.

A)sample; population
B)experimental; control
C)population; sample
D)control; experimental

Question 40

John is a second grade student who, on an achievement test, received a grade equivalent score of 4.5 (fourth grade-fifth month) on the reading comprehension subtest.As a counselor, you would interpret this score as an indicator that John should be:

A)skipped to the fourth grade.
B)moved to a fourth grade classroom for his instruction in reading.
C)tested for the gifted program, since he is doing fourth grade work.
D)the score could not be interpreted without examining how the instrument was developed.