Syllabus for Psychological Tests and Measurements, 474:01

Fall 2008
TTh, 5:00 6:20 pm Pharmacy 111
Dr. Margaret Ingate, mingate@rci.rutgers.edu
Office: 313 Tillett Hall, Livingston Campus
Office hours: Monday, 10 am 12:00 am and by appointment
TA: TBD
Class website: eCompanion@rutgers.edu. Use your net-id and eCompanion password (your
birthday in YYYYMMDD format) to log in. Let me know immediately if you have problems
logging in: I can add you to the roster.
Read the syllabus all the way to the end. It contains important information that is critical to
the grade you receive in the course. This is not a statistics course in disguise, but there is
some unavoidable statistical content.
Required Text: Psychological Testing and Assessment, Cohen & Swerdlick, Sixth Edition
Required Equipment: TurningPoint RF Responder. Warning: Do Not Purchase other types
of clickers.
Recommended for those who like controversy: Gould (1996) The Mismeasure of Man
Recommended for those planning on graduate study in psychology or education: Dynamic
Assessment,
1. Students will develop an understanding of the societal, legal, and professional issues
surrounding psychological assessment.
2. Students will develop an understanding of the limitations of assessment of ability and
achievement.
3. Students will develop basic skills in manipulating and analyzing data with SPSS.
4. Students will develop working knowledge of basic concepts in psychometrics through
a combination of study and analysis of test item data. These basic concepts include:
reliability, validity, error, bias, group norms, standardization, item analysis, Item
Response Theory, validity generalization, principles and practices in test development
and item-writing; a priori, factor-derived and empirically keyed scale development.
5. Students will be exposed to major uses and methods of assessment in research,
clinical, educational, and business settings and to some specific instruments.
Exams: There will be three non-cumulative exams, combining multiple choice and shortanswer essay questions. In addition, there will be a test of critical vocabulary, that must be
passed with a score of 100% correct by the end of the semester in order to attain a grade of
C or higher. Students can retake the different forms of the vocabulary test as many times
as needed to attain mastery. It will be offered with each exam, and may be taken at other
times by arrangement. Vocabulary study materials will be continuously available on line.

Other requirements
Class participation: This will be a small class. That is a good thing! But it means that the
quality of the learning experience will be affected by the contributions of each class member.
Data analysis assignments: Analyses of test and item data will be assigned in the first
weeks of the class. Students will use SPSS to analyze a data set posted on-line, and report
the results of their analyses using APA style. These reports are due in the middle of the term.
SPSS is available in the computer centers and results can be easily exported to Excel.
Paper or group project: Students have two options. As individuals, students may write a
research paper examining an issue addressed in the course. Alternatively, working in groups,
students may develop and pilot an achievement, attitude or interest measure, or a behavioral
observation scale, using classmates to gather (anonymous) data. Some class time will be
available for students to gather data. Web-based resources may also be used to gather data
from classmates. Students are encouraged to complete papers and projects prior to the end
of the semester. Papers and project reports must be written in APA style.
On-line quizzes: These are required and are part of your grade. In general, there will be a
quiz associated with every chapter. If you forget to take a quiz, you get a zero. The quizzes
will be available late Sunday evening through the following Sunday. At the end of the
semester, your on-line quiz score will be the average percent correct of your weekly quizzes.
Ungraded review exams will be available on-line before each exam.
In-class Response System and Quizzes: Most classes will include 8 10 questions as inclass quizzes. These will be presented one or two items at a time, during lecture. You will
answer the questions by using your radio-frequency clicker to indicate your choice of
answer. Correct answers will be worth 2 points; answering will be worth 1 point. Some
questions will not have a correct answer and will not be scored. Some questions will have
been presented in the on-line quiz prior to class. You are responsible for registering your
clicker and remembering to bring it to class. (If it is not registered, you get no points. If it is
registered incorrectly, you get no points. If you forget it, you get no points.) You are
responsible for checking your quiz scores on-line after each class. If no score is posted, no
responses were recorded from your clicker and you get no points.
At the end of the term, your clicker score will be the average of your percent correct scores
on the in-class quizzes.
Integrity: If you cheat on exam, a paper, or on a clicker quiz, the consequences are very
unpleasant and will have a very negative effect on your ability to graduate on time or to get
into graduate or professional school. Having someone else click for you, or making
responses for someone else constitutes cheating.

Week

Dates
1 Sept. 2 and 4
2 Sept. 9 and 11
3 Sept. 18, 20

4 Sept. 23, 25
5 Sept 30, Oct 2
6 Oct. 7,
Oct 9 Class is
cancelled
(Yom Kippur)
7 Oct. 14, 16
8 Oct. 21, 23

9 Oct. 28, 30
10 Nov. 4, 6
11 Nov. 11, 13
12 Nov. 18
13 Nov. 25, 28
14 Dec. 2, 5
15 Dec 9, 12
Friday,
December 19
8 am 11 am

Topic/Assignments
Overview of Testing and Assessment: History & Issues
Chapters 1 & 2
Statistics Refresher, Chapter 3
Assignments: Computing descriptive statistics with SPSS
Assumptions and Inferences, Chapter 4
Assignments: Analyzing group differences (Psychology
majors versus non-majors), developing group norms,
computing standard scores
Reliability, Chapter 5
Assignments: computing reliability coefficients
Validity, Chapter 6; (lecture will also be pod-cast in advance)
Oct 2 Exam 1: Covering Chapters 1 6, Critical vocabulary
Test Development, Item Analysis, IRT, Test Revision, Chapter
7
Assignments: Computing item statistics, computing scale
statistics
Oct 14th lecture will also be pod-cast, in advance
Assessment of Intelligence and Achievement
Chapters 8 - 10
Oct 21st lecture will also be pod-cast, in advance
Assessment of Intelligence and Achievement
Chapters 8 10;
Reports of analyses due Thursday
Assessment of Personality
Chapters 11 & 12; Reason, theory, culture
Assessment of Personality
Chapters 11 & 12; Reason, theory, culture
Exam 2: Covering Chapters 7 12, Critical vocabulary
Clinical and Counseling Assessment
Chapter 13
Clinical and Counseling Assessment
Chapter 13
Clinical and Counseling Assessment continued
Neuropsychological Assessment: Chapter 14
Assessing People with Disabilities: Chapter 15
Assessment in Business: attitudes and aptitudes. Chapter 16
Group projects and individual papers are due.
Final Exam: Covering Chapters 13 16, Critical vocabulary

Grading: Grades will be based on a point system, as follows

Exams:
Report of test and item analyses
Paper or group project
Critical vocabulary: Pass/ Fail
On-line average
Clicker average

100 points each

Grading standards
A:
B+
B
C+
C
D
F

720 points
680
640 points
600
560 points
500 points
400 points

which must include passing critical vocabulary

which must include passing critical vocabulary
which must include passing critical vocabulary
which must include passing critical vocabulary
which must include passing critical vocabulary

300 points
100 points
200 points
100
100