Winner of the British Psychological Society's Textbook Award 2019. Psychological tests are everywhere. They are widely used by practitioners, researchers, clinicians, and educators -anyone, in fact, who needs to measure various aspects of personality, cognitive abilities, mood and suchlike. Psychometrics is the science of psychological assessment. It covers the construction, use and interpretation of psychological tests of all kinds – from simple questionnaires measuring personality, moods and attitudes, through to specialised tests measuring IQ and other mental abilities. Psychological Testing: Theory and Practice provides test users, test developers, practitioners and researchers in the social sciences, education and health with an evaluative guide to choosing, using, interpreting and developing tests. Its aim is to give readers a thorough grasp of the principles (and limitations) of testing, together with the necessary methodological detail. Unusually for an introductory text, it includes coverage of several cutting-edge techniques. If you find mathematics frightening and statistics dull, this engaging text will help you to understand the fundamental principles of psychometrics, that underpin the measurement of any human characteristic using any psychological test. The book is accompanied by additional resources, including a set of spreadsheets which use simulated data and other techniques to illustrate important issues, and allow users to understand various statistical procedures work, without getting bogged down in mathematical detail. These are fully integrated into the text. This is an essential introduction for all students of psychology and related disiplines, as well as a useful resource for practitioners and those seeking accreditation in psychological testing.

The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), for disabled individuals, and their dependent family members, who have worked and contributed to the Social Security trust funds, and Supplemental Security Income (SSSI), which is a means-tested program based on income and financial assets for adults aged 65 years or older and disabled adults and children. Both programs require that claimants have a disability and meet specific medical criteria in order to qualify for benefits. SSA establishes the presence of a medically-determined impairment in individuals with mental disorders other than intellectual disability through the use of standard diagnostic criteria, which include symptoms and signs. These impairments are established largely on reports of signs and symptoms of impairment and functional limitation. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination considers the use of psychological tests in evaluating disability claims submitted to the SSA. This report critically reviews selected psychological tests, including symptom validity tests, that could contribute to SSA disability determinations. The report discusses the possible uses of such tests and their contribution to disability determinations. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination discusses testing norms, qualifications for administration of tests, administration of tests, and reporting results. The recommendations of this report will help SSA improve the consistency and accuracy of disability determination in certain cases.

Over the last 20 years there have been a large number of technical advances and changes in the field of educational and psychological testing. According to Anne Anastasi, The decade of the 1980's has been a period of unusual advances in ,psychological testing. Technological progress, theoretical sophistication, and increasing pro fessional responsibility are all evident in the fast-moving events in this field (A. Anastasi, Psychological Testing, Sixth Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1988). On the psychometric front, advances in topics such as item response theory, criterion-referenced measurement, generalizability theory,· analy sis of covariance structures, and validity generalization are reshaping the ways that ability and achievement tests are constructed and evaluated, and that test scores are interpreted. But \Jsychometric advances, as substantial and important as they have been, are only a fraction of the major changes in the field of testing. Today, for example, the computer is radically chang ing the ways in which tests are constructed, administered, and scored. Computers are being used to administer tests "adaptively." That is, the sequence of questions an examinee is administered depends upon his or her performance on earlier administered items in the test. Tests are "adapted" to the ability levels of the examinees who are being assessed. One result is shorter tests with little or no loss in measurement precision. Computers are also being used to store or bank test items. Later, items of interest can be selected, and the computer is used to print copies of the test.

This handbook surveys clinical and educational considerations related to the foundations, models, special topics, and practice of psychological assessment.

Testing, Measurement, Assessment Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory & Methods presents quality written research in a thorough and comprehensive manner that allows students to master the material. This text provides a comprehensive introduction to psychological assessment and covers areas not typically addressed in existing test and measurements texts such as neuropsychological assessment and the use of tests in forensics settings. “Mastering Modern Psychological Testing” addresses special topics in psychological testing and includes special material on test development written by a leading test developer as well as relevant examples. The book is designed for undergraduate courses in Psychological Testing / Assessment / Testing Theory & Methods. Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers should be able to: Understand what constitutes a psychological test, how tests are developed, how they are best used, and how to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses Recognize the development process and how the psychometric properties of tests are constructed so they have the generalized knowledge to always learn about any test Engage in areas of testing that represent different approaches to measuring different psychological constructs Understand the difficult and demanding area of how tests are applied and interpreted across cultures within the United States

"Psychological Testing by Theresa J. B. Kline is an accessible, easy-to-read book that effectively communicates the current concepts, trends, and controversies in the field of psychological testing. Readers are provided with an in-depth analysis of psychometrics in a format that will keep their attention and that they will be able to relate to the significance of psychological testing across numerous areas such as schools, businesses, clinical settings, military, or government." -Todd L. Chmielewski, PsycCRITIQUES, December 7, 2005 VOL. 50, NO. 49, ARTICLE 12 Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach to Design and Evaluation offers a fresh and innovative approach to students and faculty in the fields of testing, measurement, psychometrics, research design, and related areas of study. Author Theresa J.B. Kline guides readers through the process of designing and evaluating a test, while ensuring that the test meets the highest professional standards. The author uses simple, clear examples throughout and fully details the required statistical analyses. Topics include—but are not limited to—design of item stems and responses; sampling strategies; classical and modern test theory; IRT program examples; reliability of tests and raters; validation using content, criterion-related, and factor analytic approaches; test and item bias; and professional and ethical issues in testing. With the student in mind, Kline has created features that ease them into more difficult ideas, always stressing the practical use of theoretical concepts. Features include A step-by-step approach to designing a test, including construct identification, construct operationalization, collecting data, item assessment, and reliability and validity techniques Examples of data analyses with printouts and interpretation Up-to-date coverage of psychometric topics, such as difference scores, change scores, translation, computer adaptive testing, reliability and validity generalization, professional and ethical guidelines, and references IRT program outputs (dichotomous and multiple response) Coverage of traditional topics in the context of how they would be used, such as standard errors and confidence intervals Sampling approaches and their strengths and weaknesses, as well as response rates and missing data management Psychological Testing is perfectly suited as a main text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate Testing or Psychometrics courses in departments of Psychology, Education, Sociology, Management, and in the Human Services disciplines. Professional researchers, educators, and consultants will also want to add this to their libraries for up-to-date coverage of test design and evaluation techniques. "Professor Kline′s attempts to de-mystify complex measurement concepts are beautifully simplified and illustrated in her countless illustrations of practical and relevant problems for the mathematically-challenged student. This book is also a must-have for those who simply do not have the desire for the theoretical jargon used in similar textbooks but are interested in the important conceptual and practical aspects of measurement as they apply in their disciplines." —Arturo Olivarez, Jr., Texas Tech University "Kline′s Psychological Testing provides a well-written treatment of the critical issues in designing and evaluating psychometric instruments. This book will be very useful to advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers." —Richard Block, Montana State University