Md5 Mental Ability Test Scoring And Interpretation

[Hilda Bagnoli]

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Past studies have reported divergent results regarding the effect of mobile devices on general mental ability (GMA) test scores. We investigate selection bias as an explanation for this inconsistency in GMA score differences between applicants using mobile or nonmobile devices reported in observational and lab studies. We initially found that mobile test-takers scored 0.58 SD lower than nonmobile test-takers in an operational sample of 76,948 applicants across over 400 occupations. However, we found that mobile device use was more prevalent among applicants with lower educational attainment and within jobs of lower complexity. These factors, among others, could potentially confound the observed GMA score differences between devices. The device effect shrank to d = 0.25 after controlling for selection bias in device choice using propensity score weighing. As an alternative, we also used poststratification to control for selection bias and this yielded an even weaker device effect (d = 0.10). Our results indicate that the large device effects obtained in prior operational studies are possibly inflated by selection bias. Therefore, it is important to control for these demographic and occupational differences between self-selected device groups when analyzing operational data for research purposes. Propensity score weighing and poststratification appear useful for reducing the impact of selection bias in real-world, observational data. We also strongly recommend the use of random assignment to prevent selection bias when evaluating device effects for new or adapted GMA or similar ability tests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Committee on Psychological Testing, Including Validity Testing, for Social Security Administration Disability Determinations; Board on the Health of Select Populations; Institute of Medicine. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Jun 29.

Psychological assessment contributes important information to the understandingof individual characteristics and capabilities, through the collection,integration, and interpretation of information about an individual (Groth-Marnat, 2009; Weiner, 2003). Such information isobtained through a variety of methods and measures, with relevant sourcesdetermined by the specific purposes of the evaluation. Sources of informationmay include

Agreements across multiple measures and sources, as well as discrepantinformation, enable the creation of a more comprehensive understanding of theindividual being assessed, ultimately leading to more accurate and appropriateclinical conclusions (e.g., diagnosis, recommendations for treatmentplanning).

An important piece of the assessment process and the focus of this report,psychological testing consists of the administration of one or more standardizedprocedures under particular environmental conditions (e.g., quiet, goodlighting) in order to obtain a representative sample of behavior. Such formalpsychological testing may involve the administration of standardized interviews,questionnaires, surveys, and/or tests, selected with regard to the specificexaminee and his or her circumstances, that offer information to respond to anassessment question. Assessments, then, serve to respond to questions throughthe use of tests and other procedures. It is important to note that theselection of appropriate tests requires an understanding of the specificcircumstances of the individual being assessed, falling under the purview ofclinical judgment. For this reason, the committee refrains from recommending theuse of any specific test in this report. Any reference to a specific test is toprovide an illustrative example, and should not be interpreted as an endorsementby the committee for use in any specific situation; such a determination is bestleft to a qualified assessor familiar with the specific circumstancessurrounding the assessment.

To respond to questions regarding the use of psychological tests for theassessment of the presence and severity of disability due to mental disorders,this chapter provides an introductory review of psychological testing. Thechapter is divided into three sections: (1) types of psychological tests, (2)psychometric properties of tests, and (3) test user qualifications andadministration of tests. Where possible an effort has been made to address thecontext of disability determination; however, the chapter is primarily anintroduction to psychological testing.

There are many facets to the categorization of psychological tests, and evenmore if one includes educationally oriented tests; indeed, it is oftendifficult to differentiate many kinds of tests as purely psychological testsas opposed to educational tests. The ensuing discussion lays out some of thedistinctions among such tests; however, it is important to note that thereis no one correct cataloging of the types of tests because the differentcategorizations often overlap. Psychological tests can be categorized by thevery nature of the behavior they assess (what they measure), theiradministration, their scoring, and how they are used. Figure 3-1 illustrates the types of psychologicalmeasures as described in this report.

One distinction among non-cognitive measures is whether the stimulicomposing the measure are structured orunstructured. A structured personality measure, forexample, may ask people true-or-false questions about whether theyengage in various activities or not. Those are highly structuredquestions. On the other hand, in administering some commonly usedpersonality measures, the examiner provides an unstructured projectivestimulus such as an inkblot or a picture. The test-taker is requested todescribe what they see or imagine the inkblot or picture to bedescribing. The premise of these projective measures is that whenpresented with ambiguous stimuli an individual will project his or herunderlying and unconscious motivations and attitudes. The scoring ofthese latter measures is often more complex than it is for structuredmeasures.

There is great variety in cognitive tests and what they measure, thusrequiring a lengthier explanation. Cognitive tests are often separatedinto tests of ability and tests ofachievement; however, this distinction is not asclear-cut as some would portray it. Both types of tests involvelearning. Both kinds of tests involve what the test-taker has learnedand can do. However, achievement tests typically involve learning fromvery specialized education and training experiences; whereas, mostability tests assess learning that has occurred in one'senvironment. Some aspects of learning are clearly both; for example,vocabulary is learned at home, in one's social environment, andin school. Notably, the best predictor of intelligence test performanceis one's vocabulary, which is why it is often given as the firsttest during intelligence testing or in some cases represents the body ofthe intelligence test (e.g., the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test).Conversely, one can also have a vocabulary test based on words onelearns only in an academic setting. Intelligence tests are so prevalentin many clinical psychology and neuropsychology situations that we alsoconsider them as neuropsychological measures. Some abilities aremeasured using subtests from intelligence tests; for example, certainworking memory tests would be a common example of an intelligencesubtest that is used singly as well. There are also standalone tests ofmany kinds of specialized abilities.

Some ability tests are broken into verbal andperformance tests. Verbal tests, obviously enough,use language to ask questions and demonstrate answers. Performance testson the other hand minimize the use of language; they can involve solvingproblems that do not involve language. They may involve manipulatingobjects, tracing mazes, placing pictures in the proper order, andfinishing patterns, for example. This distinction is most commonly usedin the case of intelligence tests, but can be used in other abilitytests as well. Performance tests are also sometimes used when thetest-taker lacks competence in the language of the testing. Many ofthese tests assess visual spatial tasks. Historically, nonverbalmeasures were given as intelligence tests for non-English speakingsoldiers in the United States as early as World War I. These testscontinue to be used in educational and clinical settings given theirreduced language component.

Different cognitive tests are also considered to be speededtests versus power tests. A truly speededtest is one that everyone could get every question correct if they hadenough time. Some tests of clerical skills are exactly like this; theymay have two lists of paired numbers, for example, where some pairingscontain two identical numbers and other pairings are different. Thetest-taker simply circles the pairings that are identical. Pure powertests are measures in which the only factor influencing performance ishow much the test-taker knows or can do. A true power test is one whereall test-takers have enough time to do their best; the only question iswhat they can do. Obviously, few tests are either purely speeded orpurely power tests. Most have some combination of both. For example, atesting company may use a rule of thumb that 90 percent of test-takersshould complete 90 percent of the questions; however, it should also beclear that the purpose of the testing affects rules of thumb such asthis. Few teachers would wish to have many students unable to completethe tests that they take in classes, for example. When test-takers havedisabilities that affect their ability to respond to questions quickly,some measures provide extra time, depending upon their purpose and thenature of the characteristics being assessed.

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