Reliability, Validity & Cultural Fairness

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook and the required articles for this week. Take the role of a psychological examiner administering a standardized test of intelligence to Johnny, an 8-year-old boy, as a part of a research project. Carefully review the ABS300: Week Two Assessment Scenario. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. In your initial post, begin by describing your current understanding of the concept of intelligence. Based on your description of intelligence, evaluate Johnny’s response in comparison to the responses identified as correct in the standardization manual. Decide whether or not to score Johnny’s answer as correct or incorrect. Explain your rationale. Specify how scoring Johnny’s responses exactly by the manual might impact his true score on the intelligence measure. Analyze the “four seasons of the year” test item in terms of each of the following psychological measurement concepts: reliability, predictive validity, content validity, and cultural fairness. Evaluate the standards in the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct that address testing bias and the strategies for multicultural assessments discussed in the article by Horin, Hernandez & Donoso (2012) in light of the current scenario. Conclude your post by explaining how you would interpret the assessment results to Johnny and his parents.

ABS 300 Week Two Assessment-Based Scenario 

You have been assigned to administer an intelligence to Johnny, an 8-year-old boy, as a part of a research project. There are no presenting concerns. Johnny’s parents describe him as a “normal, healthy boy”. His academic achievement is reportedly average for his grade level. Johnny lives with his parents and three siblings in a rural community which has a population of approximately 847 residents. His parents responded to an advertisement to participate in an educational study in exchange for $50 and a free report of the test results. While following the standard instructions, you ask Johnny the question, “What are the four seasons of the year?” Johnny answers, “Deer, duck, rabbit and squirrel.” The manual for the standardized test, indicates the following answers are correct, “Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall (or Autumn in place of Fall).” You decided to consult with a colleague about Johnny’s response. Your colleague is familiar with the community Johnny lives in and informs you that all schools in that county close the first day of the deer hunting season, and therefore his response is accurate given his cultural context. Based on that information, when Johnny and his parents return for the test interpretation meeting, you decide to conduct an informal testing of the limits. You ask Johnny if he can tell you “four different seasons of the year” to give him an opportunity to provide the answers identified as correct according to the test manual. He immediately replies, “Turkey, bear, quail and coon.” Assume Johnny’s social-cultural background led him to give several responses on the general knowledge portion of the test that were incorrect according to the scoring manual but were logical given the community context. Without any adjustments, you found that Johnny’s overall I.Q. score would fall within the Low Average range (1.5 standard deviations below the mean).