Test Development Now that you have had a chance to see both how and why psychological assessments are used, we will begin to focus on understanding how these tests are developed. In order to do so, we must first answer the question, “What makes a good test?”

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Test Development

Now that you have had a chance to see both how and why psychological assessments are used, we will begin to focus on understanding how these tests are developed. In order to do so, we must first answer the question, “What makes a good test?” When considering the answer to this question, we must look at factors such as reliability, validity, generalizability, and how a test was normed. We will further explore all of these terms in this week’s module. When researchers develop a test, they identify a specific population they want to study and develop a test that seeks to answer a specific question. For example, a researcher may want to see the impact of a certain new treatment on depression in adolescents. In order to answer this, the researcher must develop a test that measures the teens’ current level of depression and can be administered before and after the treatment.

When it comes time to develop the actual test, developers follow a five-step process, outlined in this module’s reading: test conceptualization, construction, tryout, analysis, and revision. A very important part of the construction phase is the item analysis, where actual test questions are chosen and evaluated. Developers also must decide upon the test construct of these questions (e.g., multiple choice, matching, completion, binary-choice, short-answer, or essay). In the latter phases of test development, researchers test the assessment and utilize a plethora of analyses to determine different types of reliability and validity. Based upon these results, items may be revised prior to launching the test.

Through this week’s module and its readings, you will gain a deeper understanding of what it is like to conceptualize the need for a test and then develop it. You will explore the ethics and cultural considerations that developers must take into account when developing such tests. By understanding the test development process, you gain the knowledge to recognize how certain tests were developed. You will be able to apply the learning objectives from this module to help you consider the development of the tests used in your vignettes for your final project.