VOLUME 30, NUMBER 11, December 1999
SCIENCE DIRECTIONS
Testy issues
By Richard McCarty
APA Executive Director for Science
You may have noticed that this issue of the Monitor contains quite a few articles focusing on standards, legislation and the practice of testing and assessment. I have taken this opportunity to devote my column to test use, recognizing that testing cuts across all areas of psychology. APA's Office of Testing and Assessment is housed in the Science Directorate, but our staff work very closely with all four directorates, the Ethics Office and the Office of Legal Counsel to address the numerous issues facing APA members who develop and use tests.
Earlier in the year, I met with members of APA's Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA), and listened to their concerns that very real problems regarding testing practices needed to be aired both within the profession and to those consumers of psychological testing who are most affected. With assistance from Rhea K. Farberman and others in APA's Public Communications Office, CPTA established a plan to pull together several consumer-friendly briefing sheets on a variety of topics relating to testing and assessment. Work is in progress on the first three educational briefing sheets and they should be released during 2000. Two additional initiatives came out of this productive meeting:
Concern for the consumer
Item development...validation procedures...equating...standardized administration...have you started to nod off yet? The problem is, your average Sue or Joe Smith of Anytown, U.S.A. (and not a few APA members too, I suspect), eyes just glazed over after reading the word "validation." Quality varies across tests, and it is not the easiest task to explain to someone outside the measurement field how to make the important distinctions. One concern raised by CPTA members is that consumers of psychological testing services might not be able to understand--or even care about--the differences between a professionally developed instrument and a self-administered pop psychology quiz that you might find in a supermarket check-out line. Most professionally developed instruments can provide appropriate supporting documentation that indicates the purpose of the test, how it was validated and the uses for which it was validated, normative information and enough other detailed information that one can independently judge the quality of the test. Psychologists should take it upon themselves to educate test takers--regardless of whether they are using a test for research purposes, information gathering or to make a high-stakes decision.
There are tests, and then there are tests
How often have you seen a juicy magazine article titled, "What does your favorite color tell you about your personality?" In 5 minutes or less, you can self-analyze your personality and be on your merry way. These teasers are fun to fill out, and for the most part, probably do no harm. However, do we want the public to begin identifying these questionnaires with the scientific and professional field of psychology? I don't think so.
Our testing staff members are often asked about these types of questionnaires, and more recently, those that increasingly appear on the Internet. Did you know that one search engine, when asked the question "Where can I find personality tests?" turned up over 7 million web site addresses? There is obviously quite a lot of interest from the public on psychological tests
Educating consumers of psychological testing imposes a responsibility on the part of the professional community. Responsible test users should educate people outside of the measurement professions about the relationship between testing and test outcomes. It is not unreasonable for members to expect that professional associations and test publishers should assume leadership roles in communicating the benefits of educational and psychological testing and the inevitable impact of testing on the lives of men and women, adults and children.
Therefore, I applaud the work of the members of the Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment to proactively educate the public about tests and test use. Their timing couldn't be better--with the release of the new "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" and the continued work on the draft APA Report on Test User Qualifications, our members have the perfect opportunity to educate test takers on the positive aspects of testing and the valuable information that is obtained. Let's take advantage of it.
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