Page 185 - DEDU504_EDUCATIONAL_MEASUREMENT_AND_EVALUATION_ENGLISH

Unit 13 : Interpretation of Test Scores : Qualitative and Quantitative

• Mental age norms are also used with scales that are not arranged according to age levels. Notes
These are point scales that yield a score usually based on the number of items correctly
answered.
• Intelligence Quotient : The intelligence quotient, the ratio of an individual’s mental age to
his chronological age, is found by the formula :

MA
IQ = ( )100
CA
• An individual’s IQ indicates rate of mental development or degree of brightness. If mental
development keeps pace with one’s life age, the quotient is 100. If mental development lags,
or is accelerated, the quotient will be less than or greater than 100, depending upon the
degree of retardation or acceleration.
• Deviation IQ : The “deviation IQ” is an adaptation of the standard score (z) technique. The
method of determining the deviation IQ can be shown by using the Wechsler test’s procedure
as an illustration.
• Qualitative significance of the intelligence quotient can be illustrated further by asking this
question :
• At present there are no psychological or statistical means whereby one can calculate how
many times more or less capable one person is than another.
• Educational Age : The educational age index (EA) represents a pupil’s average level of
achievement in a group of school subjects, measured by means of standardized tests, and in
terms of the average for various chronological ages in school.
• Educational Quotient : As was to be expected, an “age” would be accompanied by a quotient.
The educational quotient indicates, presumably, whether a pupil’s knowledge of a group of
school subjects is commensurate with his chronological age.
• Achievement Quotient : This index, AQ, the use of which was suggested in 1920 (7), is now
rarely used. It is found by dividing educational age by mental age (EA/MA). The reason for
using MA as the divisor, instead of CA, is that the former is regarded as the more valid
index of a pupil’s learning capacity.

• Scores, whether raw or converted, do not suffice for the complete interpretation of an
individual’s performances on psychological tests. The several, aspects of test standardization
thus far presented are concerned with the performance of groups of persons and with average
relationships revealed by statistical treatment of results.
• Psychological tests, as already noted, are standardized on the basis of the performance of a
representative population; and an individual’s rating is determined by the relationship of
his performance to that of a group as a whole.
• A person’s responses to tests are now frequently analyzed for the purpose of discovering
whether he shows any special abilities or disabilities, whether there are marked discrepancies
between responses on some types of materials as against responses on others, or whether
certain psychological processes seem to be impaired or are markedly superior to others
within the individual.
• The subject’s specific comments while performing a task are of possible significance in
regard to his attitude toward himself, or toward an authority figure (the examiner), or
toward other individuals and institutions in his environment.
• The manner of speech—the use of expletives, halting and fumbling, restless movements,
blushing, or, on the other hand, a relaxed attitude, mild criticism of one’s own performance
• provides valuable clues to the testee’s personality.

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