Discuss criterion validity of your intelligence test scores by selecting one criterion external to the test, e.g., your GPA (overall), your GATE designation in grades K-12, a previously taken IQ test score, or some other measure of your cognitive skill or
To provide students an opportunity to compare and contrast multiple measures of the construct of intelligence.
PROCEDURE: During the semester you will have taken two intelligence tests in class (Shipley-2, Wonderlic Personnel Test). Your task is to evaluate the tests separately, compare the results of the two tests and summarize your conclusions across the tests.
GRADING: Grades will be determined by the quality of the content. A thoughtful, reflective consideration of the meaning of the test scores warrants a higher grade than a superficial essay. Organization, grammar and spelling are also considered. The emphasis is on your ability to objectively evaluate your test results. The paper is worth a total of 40 possible points.
LENGTH OF PAPER: 5-7 pages, not including the Test Results Tables (including the Tables, which should be on p. 1 of your paper, the paper should be about 5.5 – 7.5 pages). No references are required. Focus your writing on the specific required content (see “Content for Written Report” section below).
FORMAT GUIDELINES
* Organize your paper with headings for each section (Test Results, Evaluation of Results, Criterion Validity, Conclusion)
* Staple all pages together.
* You may use a title page, but no report covers please.
* Format is double spaced, typed using a Times New Roman 12 point font and 1” margins on all sides. Follow the format described in this document. Do not write your paper in APA format. Write your paper in the first person (I, me, my). Do not refer to yourself in the third person (“The student took the Shipley-2…”).
CONTENT FOR WRITTEN REPORT
Section 1: Test Results (10 points)
Begin this section (on page 1) by first organizing your test scores and other relevant information (e.g., Interpretive Categories) into the Intelligence Tests Results Tables by TYPING your scores into the Tables (Note that the Tests Results Tables document is available on Titanium. Copy the Tables directly into your paper, but do not include the footnotes, such as “Note that SEM values…).
IMPORTANT NOTE: All information will be confidential, and will not be shared without your permission.
Make sure to include the following:
Shipley-2: Raw scores, Standard scores, Percentile Ranks, SEM Values, 95% Confidence Intervals (based on Standard Scores) and Interpretive Categories (for 95% Confidence Intervals) (provide all values for Vocabulary, Abstraction and Composite A)
Wonderlic: Age-corrected Raw score, WAIS Full-Scale IQ Equivalent Score, Percentile
Rank for Adult Working Population, Percentile Rank for College Graduates, 95% Confidence Interval for Raw Scores, WAIS Full-Scale IQ Equivalent 95% Confidence
Interval, and Wechsler Classification (for WAIS 95% Confidence Interval)
Then in paragraph format report all of the data, including your age, all scores, percentile ranks, confidence intervals, interpretive categories, etc. in the Tables in narrative form (i.e., in complete sentences, such as “My Shipley-2 raw score…”). You do not need to define any terms (such as “Confidence Interval” and “Standard Score”). Assume that the reader understands these concepts.
Use the SEM values provided on Titanium (see the Shipley-2 SEM Values document and the Wonderlic PPT lecture slides, both available on Titanium) to construct Confidence Intervals. Refer to the Shipley-2 Scoring Tables and Wonderlic PPT slides for other needed information (such as standard scores, percentile ranks, etc.).
Section 2: Evaluation of Results (18 points)
Compare your test scores across tests and (in the case of the Shipley-2) within the test (e.g., Vocabulary vs. Abstraction) and interpret the results. Discuss the similarities and differences across the results and interpret the test scores. Are particular scores in the average range? Above average? Below average? What do the confidence intervals tell you about your “true” IQ score? Do the confidence intervals from the different scores overlap?
This section should include a discussion of your understanding of what the different tests/subtests are thought to measure (e.g., Shipley-2 Vocabulary vs. Shipley-2 Abstraction), what the scores mean in terms of the psychometric properties, i.e., compare and contrast test development, standardization, reliability, validity, etc.). In your discussion of standardization, reliability, and validity, provide concrete, specific numbers rather than vague statements (e.g, Don’t write, “Reliability of the Wonderlic is good”) and be clear about the particular kinds of reliability and validity you are writing about.
Use the Shipley-2 and Wonderlic test summary sheets (on Titanium), Mental Measurements Yearbook critical reviews (on Titanium) and PPT lecture slides on the Shipley-2 and Wonderlic to help you interpret and make sense of your results, based in part on the merits and limitations of each test.
If your test scores are similar, explain what might account for the similarities. If your test scores are discrepant, explain what might account for the discrepancies. A factual summary of information about each test is not helpful unless you relate it specifically to your own specific scores. Your task is to interpret the scores. In addition to a discussion of what the tests are believed to measure and their psychometric properties, you may discuss factors associated with the administration of the test (e.g., how you felt during the test, how much you slept the night before) in addition to your views of
your own strengths and weaknesses (e.g., Do you believe you have a strong vocabulary?) and how this might have influenced specific scores on the tests you took.
Section 3: Criterion Validity (6 points)
Discuss criterion validity of your intelligence test scores by selecting one criterion external to the test, e.g., your GPA (overall), your GATE designation in grades K-12, a previously taken IQ test score, or some other measure of your cognitive skill or ability. Explain how current test results are in agreement with or are discrepant with the criterion measure you select.
Important: you are not trying to validate the Shipley-2 or Wonderlic. You can’t do that based only on your scores and your criterion! So, don’t write, “The Wonderlic is not a valid test because I know I have above-average intelligence based on my 3.5 GPA, but the Wonderlic says I’m only average.”
Instead, you are trying to validate your particular scores. How valid do believe that your scores are? You’ll use some criterion measure to validate your personal Shipley-2 and/or Wonderlic scores or to show that there is evidence against the validity of your particular Shipley-2 and/or Wonderlic scores.
Section 4: Conclusion (6 points)
Conclude the paper with a brief summary of your findings. Considering the scores, interpretation, and general information (including psychometric properties) of the tests, what conclusion have you reached concerning your own intelligence? Include your opinion about which test score(s) most accurately reflect(s) your cognitive ability and why. Avoid merely restating earlier comments.
HINT: A good place to begin is the Test Summary Sheets and in the Mental Measurements Yearbook critical reviews (both available on Titanium). Carefully read the Test Summary Sheets and MMY reviews of the tests you took. Look at all of the evidence regarding what the tests are thought to measure, standardization of the tests, reliability/validity of the tests, etc. and provide lots of specific detail (including reliability and validity coefficients and standardization sizes) in your paper, especially in Sections 2 and 4.
A note on Grading: Points will be deducted from one or more sections of your paper for problems/errors in organization, grammar, spelling, punctuation and writing style.
