RESPONSE TO THE 3 PERSPECTIVES BELOW. A MINIMUM OF 200 WORDS PER PERSPECTIVE. LIST REFERENCES USED WITH EACH PERSPECTIVE.

RESPONSE 1 (Robert): Our lesson this week covered the four levels of measurement as well as discussed unique capabilities and qualities of each level of measurement.  Each level provides information to possible test takers and the purpose of research will dictate the appropriate level of measurement.  Our assigned readings discussed the importance of testing and the different kinds of test that also have their unique set of concerns.  Test are developed to standardize raw data that can be used to identify correlation within variables, as well as discover the sort of data included in research.  Test takers provide this information so researchers must be aware of possible outlets that can effect the validity and reliability of the test. 

    Some areas of consideration for test takers include: test taker fatigue to include stress levels and time of day, test anxiety, physical discomfort caused by test site, and overall motivation levels of the test taker.  Overall motivation level may be important and can identify possible influences from the researchers providing the test.  For instance, if a researcher explains the test and gets excited when talking about a certain subject, they are most certainly going to influence the part of the test.  Other environmental factors to be considered include: light levels, temperature, ambient noise levels, ventilation concerns and possible distractions.  The testing environment needs to be in a neutral/non-distracting setting that allows for the most accurate individual responses of the test questions. 

    Researchers should avoid administering a test during traditional lunch hours or dinner hours.  If testing children the test should not be right before, after, or during recess.  Scheduling a test right before or after a holiday is ill advised. Also, the length of the test should be considered.  Any test that last over an hour is causing test fatigue and creating extenuating circumstances.  When testing children tests should be kept even shorter, perhaps around twenty minutes. 

    Statistics considers possible errors when summarizing test data.  This is done by estimating probable outcomes utilizing the test data, instead of presenting the data as %100 accurate.  Within the psychological community it is acceptable to present these sort of educational guesses and these estimations are useful for future research objectives.  It is assumed that these estimated outcomes also consider the usual test variables that can skew results.  I hope these ideas get the psychological wheels turning and thank you very much for choosing my post to read and reply!  Have a great week class!   

RESPONSE 2 (Cameron): This week’s topic discusses the many aspects that may influence individuals test performance.  Since there are various reasons for taking tests to begin with, a person’s mindset going into a test may be determined or affected by the specific contextual situation.  However, there are also a variety of aspects that may positively or negatively influence a test taker’s overall performance on a test.  Some variables such as testing environment, rapport between examiner and examinee, test taking anxiety, testing medium or format, and test taking skills or prior experience in test taking, may all play a role.

As Urbina (2014) explains, the testing environment is an important aspect that plays a vital role in a test takers performance.  In addition to a good testing environment that is free of noise and other distractions, positive rapport between examinee and examiner is also extremely important, as test performance may suffer immensely if good rapport does not exist throughout the testing process.  Providing friendly, open and honest communication with the test taker is a great way to improve rapport, which could go along way in improving performance.  Another common and potential risk to test performance is test-taking anxiety, which can not only negatively impact score performance, but can also affect a test taker’s ability to even take the test in the first place (Urbina, 2014).  Fear and apprehension about one’s abilities to perform, or consequences of what could happen if test scores are low, all contribute to test anxiety, so it is important that proper anxiety reducing and coping strategies are utilized to help alleviate stress.

Additional variables that could interfere with test performance are the medium in which the test is presented, as everyone responds differently to various types of formats.  For example, differences in performance may vary depending on whether the test given is presented electronically or in paper format, and whether it contains selected-response or constructed-response items, as specific test items emphasize the use of different individual skill sets, which may ultimately influence performance.  Moreover, differences in performance may not only be influenced by individual skills or abilities, but also by whether or not the test taker has previous experience taking a particular type of test, or whether he or she has received practice ahead of time.  As Urbina (2014) points out, test takers that are familiarized with specific test-taking procedures or who have practiced test taking using sample tests, may be more likely to perform better.

RESPONSE 3 (Kearia): There are numerous factors that can affect an individual’s test takers performance to include anxiety, ineffective studying skills, and stress from home, work and family, time of day, lack of knowledge, stress levels, and more. Also, besides important test-taking variables such as those previously mentioned along with willingness to take risks and make educated guesses, earlier studies have also found that the ability to tackle emotional and motivational factors such as test anxiety and test motivation the main variables or important issues faced for test performance (Eklöf, Lyrén, & Stenlund, 2018). Research and studies have exhibited that individual’s worries and irrelevant thoughts that can be classified as test anxiety has a strong effect on one’s ability to concentrate along with their ability the level of understanding and retrieval they have when undertaking a test.

Moreover, it is mainly the higher levels of test anxiety, low motivation, and lack of preparation that consequently results in the interference with an individual’s optimal test performance. Also, dependent upon the test type or the method (multiple choice, open questions, essay questions, etc.) can also play a factor in how the individual performs on their test. In regards to events, incidents, or variables that could improve and altogether effect a test taker’s individual performance could include test taking strategies and testing programs. These testing procedures strategies have been defined as the rules used for understanding, solving test items and overall ultimately learning a set of skills in which a test-taker can use to improve a test score regardless of content area (Eklöf, Lyrén, & Stenlund, 2017). One type of during-test strategies that can be utilized is test-wiseness, a set of skills used when the test-taker does not know the answer, for example, to use elimination processes or look for clues in the item stem (Eklöf, Lyrén, & Stenlund, 2017). Additionally, there are other test camps, classes, and tutoring sessions that prepare individuals for tests such as the ACT, SAT, ASVAB, GRE, and more.

Moreover, when conducting research and studies involving testing individual’s there are numerous confounds along with internal and external threats that effect the research or study results. The formal definition of a confounding variable is “an extraneous variable in an experimental design that correlates with both the dependent and independent variables” (Spunt, 2011). A basic lament term definition for confounds is basically any type of variables or flaws that are outside of the researcher or studies control and has an effect on the study or test results.