You have been hired by a large public school system to construct a musical aptitude test. Describe how you would standardize your test and assess its reliability and validity. Explain why it might be more difficult to develop a valid musical aptitude test than a reliable one.

Answer 1

This information should give you a start.

Good tests require certain qualities.

I. Objectivity indicates consistency among scores, minimal scorer bias (r approaches +1 and is >. 90). Contrast with subjective measures (scoring term papers example).

II. Reliability indicates the consistency of scores when give to same individuals (r approaches +1 and is >.90). It requires good level of objectivity.

A. Test-retest indicates stability over time.

B. Equivalent/alternate form indicates consistency over various forms of the same test (psychology section tests example).

C. Split-half indicates consistency within a test (even-odd items example).

III. Validity means that a test "measures what it claims to measure." Although valid test needs to be reliable, reliability does not ensure validity. Valid if it correlates with criterion measure (ACT scores vs. grades example).

IV. Standardization involves two aspects.

A. Tests run with same procedures and conditions each time given (my tests example).

B. The above allows the use of norms, comparison standards used to judge a specific score. Most tests use middle class, WASP norms.