Testing, in education and psychology, is an attempt to measure a person’s knowledge, intelligence, or other characteristics in a systematic way. There are many types of tests. Teachers give tests to identify the abilities of students and to see how well students have learned a subject. Some tests help people choose a career. Others help people understand their personality traits or other psychological characteristics.
Most printed tests taken by students and others are standardized. A test has been standardized after it has been used, revised, and used again until it shows consistent results. Firms that prepare standardized tests provide information on how to administer and score each test. A standardized test score can be used to compare one person’s performance with the performances of other people who took the same test. Governments in many countries fund and operate standardized testing programs to monitor student progress and ability.
Kinds of tests
Most tests are designed to measure one of several characteristics. The most common of these characteristics are (1) learning achievement, (2) learning ability, (3) aptitude and interest, and (4) personality.
Tests of learning achievement
try to measure how much an individual has learned about a particular subject. Schools use achievement tests more than any other kind of test. Throughout elementary school, high school, and college, teachers rely on such tests when rating a student’s progress. Teachers may use both standardized tests and tests that they develop themselves. Nonstandardized tests usually follow the teacher’s own method of instruction.
Many governments and school systems use standardized achievement testing programs to monitor the effectiveness of teachers and schools. In many countries, special achievement tests are used to license people in such professions as law, medicine, and accounting.
Tests of learning ability
attempt to predict how well an individual will perform in a situation requiring intellectual ability. These tests are sometimes called intelligence tests, mental ability tests, academic aptitude tests, or scholastic aptitude tests. An intelligence quotient, also called an IQ, is a number used to indicate a person’s level of intelligence compared with other people. Intelligence quotients are determined from tests that measure learning, memory, judgment, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. See Intelligence ; Intelligence quotient .
Tests of aptitude and interest
reveal an individual’s talents or preferences for certain activities. On tests called interest inventories, a person indicates preferences among groups of activities, ideas, and circumstances. For instance, an interest inventory might ask, “Would you rather fix a broken clock, keep a set of accounts, or paint a picture?” A person’s answer indicates the strength of his or her interest in various fields.
Personality tests
attempt to scientifically measure an individual’s personal traits. Some personality tests consist of lists of questions requiring yes or no answers. The answers can be analyzed for various characteristics. For example, a person might score high in social introversion, which would indicate a strong preference for being alone. Personality tests are usually less reliable than other kinds of tests.
How to take a test
Knowing how to take tests does not increase anyone’s learning ability or achievement. But it does help a person avoid losing points unnecessarily. Experts in testing offer the following suggestions:
1. Get all the experience you can in taking tests. The ability to take tests improves with practice.
2. Cramming—or intense studying just before a test—is better than no studying at all. However, a careful review spread over several days is more effective than cramming.
3. Be sure you understand the instructions at the beginning of a test. Otherwise, you may get a lower score than you deserve because you failed to follow directions.
4. Begin by answering the questions that are easy for you, and then go back to the hard ones.
5. If there is no penalty for guessing, answer every question. Even if there is a penalty, you may still gain points by guessing some answers. On a multiple-choice question, for example, you may know enough about the subject to eliminate some of the choices. If so, your chance of guessing the correct answer improves considerably.
Current issues in testing
Testing can help teachers and schools identify what students know, what students seem able to learn, and what methods of teaching are most effective. However, testing systems also have flaws and limitations.
Many educators and social scientists advise against placing a heavy emphasis on a single test score. A test score reflects only a sample of a person’s skill or knowledge. It can tell only how well the person performed on one particular test on one particular day. Test scores should be viewed as estimates, not as precise measurements. For this reason, some scores are reported as bands rather than as single numbers. The bands show the range in which a person’s actual ability probably lies.
The general effects of testing on education have also caused concern. Standardized tests sometimes lag behind educational thought and practice. If tests do not include the content of new programs, they may fail to encourage educational progress. Furthermore, some educators believe multiple-choice tests penalize students who have expert knowledge of a subject. Such a student may see flaws in the answer generally accepted as correct.
Some experts argue that standardized tests discriminate against certain cultural groups. For instance, some students may be unfamiliar with words, terms, and concepts used in the tests. To give these students an equal chance, some educators have tried to prepare culture-fair or culture-free tests. Such tests seek to reduce the influence of cultural background on performance.
The shortcomings of testing programs have led some educators to pursue alternative assessment techniques—that is, nontraditional methods of evaluating student performance. Such methods often require students to show their knowledge by completing a project or by giving a demonstration, rather than by taking a test.
