IOP3701 EXAM QUESTIONS
SECTION 1
May 2011
For fair & equitable testing & assessment in the work context, the starting point is that the job must be described,
explain why this would be important (5)
Discuss the importance of doing a thorough job analysis in testing and assessment in the work context (5)
• The first step and main emphasis in the decision making process is a thorough job analysis
• Job analysis consists of:
o Job description – indicates the tasks that need to be done in the job.
o Job specification – specific characteristics required of a person to perform well in the job.
• It is important to list specific requirements that are not often stated – which candidates cannot be considered.
• The next step includes fair procedures for making decision. This entails well thought through and justifiable procedures for job
description, advertisements etc.
• Evaluate and justify minimum requirements in formal education, prior learning, relevant experience, training, skills and knowledge.
• Decide on suitable testing and assessment techniques
• Follow scientific, professional and ethical guidelines
• Monitor outcomes for fairness and adverse impact.
• Take steps to ensure equity and fairness for future opportunities.
• Fair and equitable testing and assessment:
o 1st step and main emphasis in the decision-making process is a thorough job analysis – to know exactly what the job
entails and what qualities, characteristics, qualification and experience are required to be successful in the job.
o Important to also list specific requirements that are not often stated, but only come out when certain candidates cannot
be considered for a particular position. Clarity about exactly what the stated and unstated requirements are.
o Fair procedure for making decisions. This entails well thought through and justifiable procedures for job description,
advertisements and all further steps incorporated in the decision-making process.
o Evaluate and justify requirements in formal education, prior learning, relevant experience, training, skills and
knowledge.
o Decide which testing and / or assessment or measurement techniques are suitable to use for the specific job
application.
o Use scientific, professional and ethical guidelines in evaluating the procedures to be used.
o Monitor outcomes for fairness and adverse impact.
• Take steps to ensure equity and fairness for future opportunities.
May 2011
The EEA of 1998 is used as a guideline to ensure fair & equitable assessment practices in the industry. Discuss the
value of the EEA in psych assessment domain in SA context (5)
• The purpose of the employment equity act in the workplace is to:
o Promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
o Implement affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, in order to
ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.
• In terms of the employment equity act, psychological testing and other similar assessments of an employee are prohibited unless the
test or assessment being used:
o Has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable;
o Can be applied fairly to all employees; and
o Is not biased against any employee or group.
,May 2011
Explain what can be done to ensure that persons with disabilities can as far as possible also be assessed. What
additional arrangements can be made to accommodate persons with disabilities in assessment (5)
Oct 2011
What are the limitations to psych assessment of illiterate/computer illiterate individuals? – How can these limitations be
overcome? (5)
• Simple guidelines that can be followed to ensure that measures are administered fairly to disabled people do not seem to exist.
• The assessment needs to be adapted and tailored by modifying the test items, content, stimuli, material or apparatus, adjusting or
abandoning time limits and choosing the most appropriate medium (eg visual, auditory or tactile)
• The assessment practitioner has to make decisions regarding how to adapt or modify a measure for use with disabled individuals and
should consult a manual to see whether any information has been provided in this regards.
• Results should be used in a qualitative way and can be used to gain an indication of a particular characteristic being assessed.
• Assessment of disabled individuals should take place within a multidisciplinary team context involving various professionals
• The potential to formulate incorrect opinions is present
• Psych assessment ensures the forming of an informed opinion, and the possibility is there that the wrong opinion was reached
• Psychologist might err on the side of selectively attending to only certain bits of information, or selectively remembering certain aspects
of the interview, or not following up on a critical piece of information, or employing faulty logic.
• The above can lead to incorrect conclusions
May 2011
Explain why norms are of particular importance in the assessment of cognitive functioning (5)
• A norm is a measure against which an individual’s raw score is evaluated so that the individual’s position relative to that of a normative
sample can be determined – that is the individual’s standing in relation to the norm group.
• Test takers performance is interpreted with reference to a standardization sample
• Results of norm-referenced measured often reported as scores like percentile ranks that is calculated on the basis of the performance to
the group on whom the measure was normed.
• It often happens that the test taker does not match the normative sample i.e. in SA we have to use measures that were normed in other
countries. The score can therefore not be considered an accurate reflection of the test takers ability but should be seen as an
approximate indication
• Clinical interpretation is important
• Due to commonalities in brain-behaviour relationships & cognitive processes associated with them, there is evidence that certain
patterns of scores are applicable cross-culturally and can be used in a multi-cultural society.
Oct 2011
Most psych assessment measures of specific constructs measures at interval scale. Explain the properties of interval
scale. Discuss the advantages and limitations of interval scale for psych assessment (5)
May 2010
Give the measurement characteristics of interval scores. Also explain why psychological test results are interval scores
and not ratio scores. (5)
• Interval scales: This scale has the property of magnitude and equal intervals.
• This means that the size of the difference between values can be interpreted.
• E.g. temperature – magnitude: 30C is warmer than 25C
• Equal intervals: the difference between 4C and 10C, the same as the difference between 30C and 36C
• Ratio scales: Measurement scales that have all three properties – magnitude, equal intervals, and absolute zero.
• The ratios are meaningful
• E.g. speed – the point where there is no speed at all is 0 km/hour.
• 120 km/h is twice the speed of 60 km/h and 55 km/h is half the speed of 110km/h
• Ratio scales cannot be used for psych test results as humans do not have an absolute zero measurement.
Oct 2011
, Explain what is meant by the standard error of measurement and why it should be taken into account when measuring
an attribute of an individual. (5)
It indicates the band of error around each obtained score and examiners should be aware of the SEM for each subtest before interpreting the
test takers score. The possibility of errors in measurement also has to be taken into account when examining the differences between
subtest scores on a composite scale such as intelligence scale. The observed differences between scores could be due to chance and may
not be a reflection of the real differences.
SECTION 1
May 2011
For fair & equitable testing & assessment in the work context, the starting point is that the job must be described,
explain why this would be important (5)
Discuss the importance of doing a thorough job analysis in testing and assessment in the work context (5)
• The first step and main emphasis in the decision making process is a thorough job analysis
• Job analysis consists of:
o Job description – indicates the tasks that need to be done in the job.
o Job specification – specific characteristics required of a person to perform well in the job.
• It is important to list specific requirements that are not often stated – which candidates cannot be considered.
• The next step includes fair procedures for making decision. This entails well thought through and justifiable procedures for job
description, advertisements etc.
• Evaluate and justify minimum requirements in formal education, prior learning, relevant experience, training, skills and knowledge.
• Decide on suitable testing and assessment techniques
• Follow scientific, professional and ethical guidelines
• Monitor outcomes for fairness and adverse impact.
• Take steps to ensure equity and fairness for future opportunities.
• Fair and equitable testing and assessment:
o 1st step and main emphasis in the decision-making process is a thorough job analysis – to know exactly what the job
entails and what qualities, characteristics, qualification and experience are required to be successful in the job.
o Important to also list specific requirements that are not often stated, but only come out when certain candidates cannot
be considered for a particular position. Clarity about exactly what the stated and unstated requirements are.
o Fair procedure for making decisions. This entails well thought through and justifiable procedures for job description,
advertisements and all further steps incorporated in the decision-making process.
o Evaluate and justify requirements in formal education, prior learning, relevant experience, training, skills and
knowledge.
o Decide which testing and / or assessment or measurement techniques are suitable to use for the specific job
application.
o Use scientific, professional and ethical guidelines in evaluating the procedures to be used.
o Monitor outcomes for fairness and adverse impact.
• Take steps to ensure equity and fairness for future opportunities.
May 2011
The EEA of 1998 is used as a guideline to ensure fair & equitable assessment practices in the industry. Discuss the
value of the EEA in psych assessment domain in SA context (5)
• The purpose of the employment equity act in the workplace is to:
o Promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination; and
o Implement affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, in order to
ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.
• In terms of the employment equity act, psychological testing and other similar assessments of an employee are prohibited unless the
test or assessment being used:
o Has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable;
o Can be applied fairly to all employees; and
o Is not biased against any employee or group.
,May 2011
Explain what can be done to ensure that persons with disabilities can as far as possible also be assessed. What
additional arrangements can be made to accommodate persons with disabilities in assessment (5)
Oct 2011
What are the limitations to psych assessment of illiterate/computer illiterate individuals? – How can these limitations be
overcome? (5)
• Simple guidelines that can be followed to ensure that measures are administered fairly to disabled people do not seem to exist.
• The assessment needs to be adapted and tailored by modifying the test items, content, stimuli, material or apparatus, adjusting or
abandoning time limits and choosing the most appropriate medium (eg visual, auditory or tactile)
• The assessment practitioner has to make decisions regarding how to adapt or modify a measure for use with disabled individuals and
should consult a manual to see whether any information has been provided in this regards.
• Results should be used in a qualitative way and can be used to gain an indication of a particular characteristic being assessed.
• Assessment of disabled individuals should take place within a multidisciplinary team context involving various professionals
• The potential to formulate incorrect opinions is present
• Psych assessment ensures the forming of an informed opinion, and the possibility is there that the wrong opinion was reached
• Psychologist might err on the side of selectively attending to only certain bits of information, or selectively remembering certain aspects
of the interview, or not following up on a critical piece of information, or employing faulty logic.
• The above can lead to incorrect conclusions
May 2011
Explain why norms are of particular importance in the assessment of cognitive functioning (5)
• A norm is a measure against which an individual’s raw score is evaluated so that the individual’s position relative to that of a normative
sample can be determined – that is the individual’s standing in relation to the norm group.
• Test takers performance is interpreted with reference to a standardization sample
• Results of norm-referenced measured often reported as scores like percentile ranks that is calculated on the basis of the performance to
the group on whom the measure was normed.
• It often happens that the test taker does not match the normative sample i.e. in SA we have to use measures that were normed in other
countries. The score can therefore not be considered an accurate reflection of the test takers ability but should be seen as an
approximate indication
• Clinical interpretation is important
• Due to commonalities in brain-behaviour relationships & cognitive processes associated with them, there is evidence that certain
patterns of scores are applicable cross-culturally and can be used in a multi-cultural society.
Oct 2011
Most psych assessment measures of specific constructs measures at interval scale. Explain the properties of interval
scale. Discuss the advantages and limitations of interval scale for psych assessment (5)
May 2010
Give the measurement characteristics of interval scores. Also explain why psychological test results are interval scores
and not ratio scores. (5)
• Interval scales: This scale has the property of magnitude and equal intervals.
• This means that the size of the difference between values can be interpreted.
• E.g. temperature – magnitude: 30C is warmer than 25C
• Equal intervals: the difference between 4C and 10C, the same as the difference between 30C and 36C
• Ratio scales: Measurement scales that have all three properties – magnitude, equal intervals, and absolute zero.
• The ratios are meaningful
• E.g. speed – the point where there is no speed at all is 0 km/hour.
• 120 km/h is twice the speed of 60 km/h and 55 km/h is half the speed of 110km/h
• Ratio scales cannot be used for psych test results as humans do not have an absolute zero measurement.
Oct 2011
, Explain what is meant by the standard error of measurement and why it should be taken into account when measuring
an attribute of an individual. (5)
It indicates the band of error around each obtained score and examiners should be aware of the SEM for each subtest before interpreting the
test takers score. The possibility of errors in measurement also has to be taken into account when examining the differences between
subtest scores on a composite scale such as intelligence scale. The observed differences between scores could be due to chance and may
not be a reflection of the real differences.
