One of my graduate school mentors once said in class that there are three standard errors that everyone in the assessment or I/O Psychology field needs to know: the standard error of the mean, the standard error of measurement, and the standard error of the estimate. These concepts are distinct in their purpose and application […]
Machine Learning in Psychometrics: Old News? In the past decade, terms like machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and data mining have become buzzwords, thanks to the increasing availability of data and advancements in computing power. These technologies power innovations like self-driving cars, but machine learning has been used in psychometrics for decades—making much of […]
What Are Cognitive Diagnostic Models? Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) are a psychometric framework designed to enhance how tests are structured and scored. Instead of providing just an overall test score, CDMs aim to generate a detailed profile of an examinee’s mastery of specific skills. This approach offers deeper insights into individual strengths and weaknesses, making […]
The Goal: Quality Assessment On March 31, 2017, I read an article in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (the journal published by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology) that really resonated with me: Has Industrial-Organizational Psychology Lost Its Way? By Deniz S. Ones, Robert B. Kaiser, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Cicek Svensson Why? Because many of their points apply […]
What is a Rubric? A rubric is a set of rules for converting unstructured responses on assessments—such as essays—into structured data that can be analyzed psychometrically. It helps educators evaluate qualitative work consistently and fairly. Why Do We Need Rubrics? Measurement is a quantitative endeavor. In psychometrics, we aim to measure knowledge, achievement, aptitude, or […]
Time limits are an essential parameter to just about every type of assessment. A time limit is the length of time given to individuals to complete their assessment or a defined portion of it. Managing test timing effectively ensures fairness, accuracy, and a pleasant experience for all test-takers – and is therefore a component of […]
Introduction Test fraud is an extremely common occurrence. We’ve all seen articles about examinee cheating. However, there are very few defensible tools to help detect it. I once saw a webinar from an online testing provider that proudly touted their reports on test security… but it turned out that all they provided was a simple […]
KSAOs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics) is an approach to defining the human attributes necessary for success on a job. It is an essential aspect of human resources and organizational development field, impacting critical business processes from recruitment to selection to compensation. This post provides an introduction to KSAOs and then discusses how they […]
Computerized adaptive testing is an AI-based approach to assessment where the test is personalized based on your performance as you take the test, making the test shorter, more accurate, more secure, more engaging, and fairer. If you do well, the items get more difficult, and if you do poorly, the items get easier. If an […]
Summative and formative assessment are a crucial component of the educational process. If you work in the educational assessment field or even in educational generally, you have probably encountered these terms. What do they mean? This post will explore the differences between summative and formative assessment. Assessment plays a crucial role in education, serving as […]
