What is a psychometric test?

In this unit, you will explore what makes a test psychometric, including the importance of standardisation, reliability, and validity in test design. The talk explains how psychometric tests differ from other psychological assessments, outlines the key steps in developing a quality test, and discusses the main categories such as ability, aptitude, and personality tests. You will also gain an understanding of how these assessments are used in the workplace and the different approaches to predicting job performance.

After this talk, you will:

• Understand what a psychometric test is and how it differs from a general psychological test.

• Know the main purpose of psychometric tests in the workplace—predicting behaviour and performance.

• Recognise the principles that make a test 'psychometric', especially the importance of standardisation in administration, scoring, and interpretation.

• Be aware of the difference between signs and sample approaches to assessment, and why psychometric tests usually fit the signs approach.

• Be able to describe the process of constructing a psychometric test, including theoretical rationale, item writing, piloting, item analysis, standardisation, and validation.

• Understand the importance of comparison groups or norm groups in giving test scores meaning.

• Identify the main categories of psychometric tests, such as maximum performance (ability, aptitude, attainment) and typical behaviour (personality, interests).

• Understand various distinctions in test types, including speed versus power tests, general versus specific ability tests, and sample versus trainability tests.

• Appreciate the value of psychometric tests for workplace selection and development, as well as the need to interpret results alongside other assessments.

• Know that proper psychometric tests must conform to robust design and standardisation processes to be valid and reliable.

• Be able to recognise typical formats of psychometric tests used in practice today.