chapter 1 history of testing

INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER I

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING A Little History

Early PeriodThe Boom PeriodThe First Period of

CriticismThe Battery PeriodThe Second Period of

CriticismThe Age of

Accountability

2200 B.CChinese used competitive

exam, civil service positions. Civil law, military affairs,

agriculture, revenue, and geography.

Testing extremely rigorous Confucian classics was emphasized.

Only 3% of the group became eligible for public office.

Chinese served as models for developing civil service exams in Europe and America in the 1800s.

Weakness:

Chinese failed to validate the selection procedures.- Penmanship was at that time given a relevant predictor for suitability for office.

19th Century: Formal Measurement

Formal measurement procedures Western educational system 19th Century Wundt, Galton, and Cattell laid the foundation for the 20th Century testing.

Wilhelm Wundt

studied conscious human experience using his psychological laboratory.

Acknowledged individual differences but inclination was on the study of the human mind.

His legacy was on the rigorous experimental control of procedures, which is very important in tests administration under standardized conditions.

Sir Francis Galton

Studied individual differences, most basic concept underlying psychological testing.

Concentrated individual differences sensory and motor functioning.

10 years, tested 17,000 individuals

He pioneered the study of individual differences in mental ability. Related intellectual ability to skills such as reaction time, sensitivity to physical stimuli, and body proportions.

Demonstrated that objective tests could be devised through standardized procedures.

Sample of Galton’s Work

James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)

Cattell transported brass instruments to the U.S.; did an elaborate reaction time studies; invented the term mental test.

Some of his famous students were: Thorndike (1898) Woodworth (1899) and E.K. Strong (1911)

whose Vocational Interest Blank ,after so many revisions, is still in wide use.

Wundt, Galton, and Cattell laid the foundation for the 20th Century testing.

Others keep track on Cattell and Galton’s interests. Wissler ▪Correlated mental tests and academic performance which showed weak relationship between reaction time and sensory discrimination as measures of intelligence.▪ desirable development in the history of psychological testing; abandonment of RT and sensory discrimination

Abandonment of RT and sensory as measures

Premature abandonmentpoor research method, homogenous sample and lesser number of trials.

70 years later correlation was established and Stenberg recognized the value of RT in intelligence.

VOID IN TESTING

Evolution of Intelligence and Standardized Achievement Tests

Alfred Binet was on the verge of a major break through in intelligence testing.

Binet developed his test to help identify children in Paris school system who could not profit from ordinary instruction.

1905: Binet-Simon Scale was established; major breakthrough in the creation of modern test.

Boom Period (America’s involvement in World War I)

15-year boom periodNew science of Psychology was

called on to play a part in military situations Yerkes used the Army Alpha (Verbal) and Army Beta for selection of individuals for military service.

• Robert Yerkes, a Harvard psychology professor. Convinced the Department of War that it should test all of its 1.75 million recruits for intelligence tests, so they could be classified and given appropriate assignments (Goddard and Terman also chaired this committee).

Consequences of Kalikak Family The height of Goddard's success came at a time when

America was experiencing a large influx of immigrants from Europe. The Immigration Restriction Act, passed in 1924 (which remained in effect until 1965) was influenced by American eugenics' efforts. In 1913 Goddard was invited to Ellis Island to help detect morons in the immigrant population. In his Intelligence Classification of Immigrants of Different Nationalities (1917) he asserted that most of the Ellis Island immigrants were mentally deficient. For example, he indicated that 83% of all Jews tested were feeble-minded, as were 80% of the Hungarians, 79% of the Italians, and 87% of the Russians. The result was that many immigrants were turned away and sent back to Europe.

ARMY BETA ARMY ALPHA

A company advanced 6 miles and retreated 2 miles. How far was it then from its first position?

A dealer bought some mules for $1,200. He sold them for $1,500, making $50 on each mule. How many mules were there?

Thermometers are useful because They regulate temperature They tell us how warm it is They contain mercury

A machine gun is more deadly than a rifle, because it Was invented more recently Fires more rapidly Can be used with less training

Measurement expanded in 12 years after the war; vocational, and personality tests were developed.

Personality Tests: 1920-1940 (WWII)Structured personality tests: paper and pencil tests; i.e., Woodworth Personal Data Sheet

tests like MMPI were published

Criticism and Consolidaton (1930s)

test developers and users placed too much reliance on the correctness of tests results regarding people’s abilities and characteristics

Early Abuses of Tests in America

Goddard (1906) began testing 378 residents and categorized them as Idiot (ma below 2), imbecile (3-7), feebleminded (8-12), moron (foolish)

Goddard’s desire was to separate people out

Believed feeble minded people were the cause of most social problems (thievery, laziness, alcoholism, prostitution, immorality).

• Called for the colonization of “morons” to restrict their breeding. Further, he believed that many immigrants were feeble minded.

• Produced evidence that supported segregation. Sounded dire warnings that racial intermixture would inevitably cause a deterioration of American intelligence. Later recanted: “without foundation” Probably the result of cultural and language differences.

“Age of Discrimination” –testing revealed large score

differences between White Americans and minorities-“feeble-minded”; started to question the test and the conclusions drawn from the tests

First Period of Criticism

1930s saw a crash in the expectations of mental measurement.

criticisms led young Psychologist to initiate the Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY) to critically review test.

Battery Period (1940s)

Psychological measurement was used again for military service where batteries of tests were developed that measure several abilities.

Reduced failure rates and led to emphasis on test batteries.

1950s educational and psychological testing grew and expanded not lonely in the field of education but other fields like business, industry, clinics.

APA set guidelines for good testing practice.

2nd Period of Criticism (1965)

In 1965, civil rights movement were in full swing; reacted to test’s invasion of privacy.

Tests were seen as biased tools; discriminate women and minorities in education and employment.

Age of Accountability

despite criticisms , governments and specifically educational institutions were putting greater faith in testing to determine whether government and educational programs were achieving their objectives.

Despite failures, school are accountable for maximum learning of the students

MORAL LESSONS

Failures▪ Segregation between/among minorities.▪ Created intellectual hierarchy

between/among races.▪ Labelling: Americans superior over African

Americans and other minorities.▪ Discrimination between men and women in

employment.▪ Invasion of privacy