Norms in Psychological Testing - Essay Example

Limitations of Norms Paper Grade 9th April, Norms in Psychological testing Introduction Psychological testing is referred to as psychological assessment because information is given out, and the accuracy of the information is tested and assessed. The accuracy of the tests is determined by how accurate a person answers the questions asked. The contemporary psychological testing depends on and relies enormously on norming, to clarify performance and give subject categorization to test subjects (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2009). The norms used for categorizing test subjects have limitations when interpreting the results. The tests are used to give meaning to the raw data collected. This paper will address the limitations of norming while interpreting results, and reconcile the limitations with interpretation of the scores. Norms should not be seen as the standards of performance, but they act as a base for interpreting test scores. Norm groups vary in size, and it can be as large as 100, 000 people. Types and uses of norms Developmental norms Psychological testing aims at measuring human beings characteristics that pertain to behavior. Developmental norms are used to indicate the progress of a person, along the normal developmental path (Stark and Barnes, 1975). A child of 6 years old, who has an IQ like a 10 years old child, can be referred to as having a mental age of 10. Developmental norms have a significant appeal for purposes which are descriptive, mostly in the individuals’ intensive clinical studies and for specific research purposes. Mental age norms are found in developmental norms, which measures, a person’s progress in relation with others in the group. Mental age norms are used to determine a person’s age depending with the behavior of the individual as compared to the behavior of others in the same category (Anastasi and Urbina, 1997). A child’s raw score is determined first, and then the mean of the raw scores is determined next. The mean raw score achieved by all the children or participants in every year group, and it is within the standardization sample is what gives and constitutes the age norm for the test (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2009). Mental age unit cannot be constant with age, but it shrinks with age advancement. Grade norms are part of the developmental norms, and they are used to portray a person’s educational achievements, and they are mainly employed in school settings. They are achieved by computing the students each grade raw score, and the average is the mean grade (McIntire and Miller, 2007). Grade norms content differ from grade to grade, and they are appropriate only in a common place and for common subjects. The grade norms are applied in primary level and not at the level of high school because; many subjects can be studied for only a short time like one to two years. They are subject to misinterpretations when regarded to as performance standards. Ordinal scale is an approach to developmental norms, and it is derived from child psychology research. It involves developmental behavior empirical observation in young children or infants. This leads to the description of typical behavior in successive developmental stages like locomotive, linguistic formation, sensory discrimination, and concept formation (Vakil et al., 2010). Ordinal scales are used in achieving and identifying the stage attained by a child in specific behavior functions. They provide information of the abilities and capabilities of the child. Within- group norms Within – group norms are formed by almost all the standardized tests. The tests evaluate an individual’s performance and evaluated it in terms of almost comparable standardization grouping performance (Gloudemans, 2000). They have accurately and uniformly defined quantitative meanings, and they are successfully employed in many statistical analyses. Percentiles are part of in- group norms, and they are expressed in terms of percentages of individuals who fall below the given raw score in the standardization sample. Percentiles are used to indicate the qualified place of a person in the standardization sample (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2009). They are easily understood and easy to compute, even by people who are not technically trained. They are applicable to both children and adults. Standard scores are pat of within – group norms, and they are used to show the individual’s distance from the average or mean, in terms of the distributions standard deviation. The standard score is obtained through non linear or linear transformations (Anastasi and Urbina, 1997). The deviation IQ, a type of within- group norms, is used to convert mental age scores into an individual’s relative status uniform index. Limitations of the norms in interpretation of psychological scores The developmental and within- group norms are not without a negative side in them, since they have limitations. The norms are used for interpretation of data obtained through psychological tests. In Mental age norm, when interpreting the tests done, the mental age unit becomes difficult to determine, unless more tests are done on other age groups because, it changes with change in age by shrinking when the age advances (Anastasi and Urbina, 1997). The age norm can be applied when interpreting the tests on a certain group, but it cannot be universally applied to interpret tests for different age groups at the same time. For example, a 6 year old who is 2 years old retarded, will be approximately be 4 years old retarded by the age of 12. Grade norms are popular when interpreting tests, but the instructions are limited to specific grades, and they are appropriate just for common subjects taught all over the grade levels covered by the test. Grade norms are normally not applicable at the level of high school. It is only applicable in levels where subjects taught are uniform, and done for a longer period of time than in high school where some subjects are only done for two or three years. They are normally misinterpreted especially if the person is not conversant with the raw data, and they are inappropriately referred to as, performance standards (Anastasi and Urbina, 1997). Percentiles are used in interpreting psychological tests by indicating the relative position of an individual in a standardized sample. Percentiles starts counting from the bottom in a bid to show that the poor an individual stands, the lower the percentile rank. Percentiles are normally confused with the raw percentage scores, and there is marked inequality in their units at the extremes of the distribution. The distribution of raw scores, in most cases, is measured to approximate the normal curve, and this is reflected differently on the percentile ranking (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2009). The distance between the scores as reflected in the normal curve is exaggeratedly distorted on the percentile transformation. This distortion of distances brings difficulties for people to understand especially when comparing the normal ranking and the percentile transformation. Normalized standard scores are the most reliable and satisfactory type of score for nearly all purposes, but they are faced by certain objections to routinely normalizing all distribution. Transformations are limited and done to, large samples, which are representative, and only if the deviation from norms is caused by test defects rather than sample characteristics and other factors affecting the behavior being studied (Anastasia and Urbina, 1997). Therefore, normalized test scores are not applicable to small samples, which are not representative. The availability of a small sample can limit the use of normative standardized scores, even when they fit in the situation being observed or studied. Reconciling statement Within- group norms like percentile are confused with ranking percentile whose readings are done from top to bottom, but percentile readings are done from bottom to top, and they denote that, the lower a person’s position is, the poor a person’s ranking. Grade norms are popular when interpreting tests, but the instructions are limited to specific grades, and they are appropriate just for common subjects taught all over the grade levels covered by the test. Norms have various limitations in their use when interpreting psychological test results, but they also have advantages, which have contributed, to their being fundamentally used in the contemporary society. To avoid these limitations from affecting interpretations of psychological tests, the best test instruments should be used, and psychologists must have a justification for choosing any specific test instrument. Some norms may apply in both quantitative and qualitative research, but some are best suited in only one situation. For example, most developmental norms are best applied qualitatively like mental age norms, while others like percentiles are best used quantitatively. Conclusion Norm using in psychological tests is highly used and readily acceptable in the society, and they assist in interpreting psychological tests. In order to reach the best findings and interpretations, psychologists should always use test instruments in their practice of psychology. There is also need to consider if research supports the presumptions underlying, which oversee the interpretive statement, and should at all times be able to support the choice of any specific test instrument. Integrating and reconciling the interpretive statements made by the test equipment should be based on group norms. Limitations of interpretive statements and tests are supposed to be addressed by psychologists. Interpretive statements founded on computerized programs or group data, should be integrated with judgment and assessment concerning individuals, and should be deemed necessary depending on training and experience of the psychologist. References Anastasi, A., and Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Barnes, K., and Stark, A. (1975). The Denver Developmental Screening Test: A Normative study. American Journal of public health, 65(4), 363-369. Gloudemans, R. J. (2000). An empirical evaluation of central tendency measures. Assessment Journal, 7(1), 21-27. Vakil, E., Greenstein, Y., and Blachstein, H. (2010). Normative data for composite scores for children and adults derived from the Rey auditory verbal learning test. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24(4), 662-677. Kaplan, R., and Saccuzzo, D. (2009). Psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues. (7th ed.). Belmont: Cengage Learning. McIntire, S. and Miller, L. (2007). Foundations of psychological testing: a practical approach. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Read More