The oral test is administered to one person at a time, but written tests can be given simultaneously to a number of subjects. Oral tests of achievement, being uneconomical and prone to content and scorer unreliability, have been supplanted by written tests; notable exceptions include the testing of illiterates and the anachronistic oral examinations to which candidates for graduate degrees are liable.

Proponents of individually administered intelligence tests (e.g., the Stanford-Binet) state that such face-to-face testing optimizes rapport and motivation, even among literate adult subjects. Oral tests of general aptitude remain popular, though numerous written group tests have been designed for the same purpose.

The interview may provide a personality measurement and, especially when it is standardized as to wording and order of questions and with a key for coding answers, may amount to an individual oral test. Used in public opinion surveys, such interviews are carefully designed to avoid the effects of interviewer bias and to be comprehensible to a highly heterogeneous sample of respondents.

Appraisal by others versus self-appraisal

In responding to personality inventories and rating scales, a person presumably reveals what he thinks he is like; that is, he appraises himself. Other instruments may reflect what one person thinks of another. Because self-appraisal often lacks objectivity, appraisal by another individual is common in such things as ratings for promotions. Ordinary tests of ability clearly involve evaluation of one person by another, although the subject’s self-evaluation may intrude; for example, he may lack confidence to the point where he does not try to do his best.

Projective tests

The stimuli (e.g., inkblots) in a projective test are intentionally made ambiguous and open to different interpretations in the expectation that each subject will project his own unique (idiosyncratic) reactions in his answers. Techniques for evaluating such responses range from the intuitive impressions of the rater to complex, coded schemes for scoring and interpretation that require extensive manuals; some projective tests are objectively scorable.

Speed tests versus power tests

A pure speed test is homogeneous in content (e.g., a simple clerical checking test), the tasks being so easy that with unlimited time all but the most incompetent of subjects could deal with them successfully. The time allowed for testing is so short, however, that even the ablest subject is not expected to finish. A useful score is the number of correct answers made in a fixed time. In contrast, a power test (e.g., a general vocabulary test) contains items that vary in difficulty to the point that no subject is expected to get all items right even with unlimited time. In practice, a definite but ample time is set for power tests.

Speed tests are suitable for testing visual perception, numerical facility, and other abilities related to vocational success. Tests of psychomotor abilities (e.g., eye–hand coordination) often involve speed. Power tests tend to be more relevant to such purposes as the evaluation of academic achievement, for which the highest level of difficulty at which a person can succeed is of greater interest than his speed on easy tasks.

In general, tests reflect unknown combinations of the effects of speed and power; many consist of items that vary considerably in difficulty, and the time allowed is too limited to allow a large proportion of subjects to attempt all items.

Teacher-made versus standardized tests

A distinction between teacher-made tests and standardized tests is often made in relation to tests used to assess academic achievement. Ordinarily, teachers do not attempt to construct tests of general or special aptitude or of personality traits. Teacher-made tests tend instead to be geared to narrow segments of curricular content (e.g., a sixth-grade geography test). Standardized tests with carefully defined procedures for administration and scoring to ensure uniformity can achieve broader goals. General principles of test construction and such considerations as reliability and validity apply to both types of test.

Special measurement techniques

Sociodrama and psychodrama were originally developed as psychotherapeutic techniques. In sociodrama, group members participate in unrehearsed drama to illuminate a general problem. Psychodrama centres on one individual in the group whose unique personal problem provides the theme. Related research techniques (e.g., the sociometric test) can offer insight into interpersonal relationships. Individuals may be asked to specify members of a group whom they prefer as leader, playmate, or coworker. The choices made can then be charted in a sociogram, from which cliques or socially isolated individuals may be identified at a glance.

Research psychologists have grasped the sociometric approach as a means of measuring group cohesiveness and studying individual reactions to groups. The degree to which any group member chooses or is chosen beyond chance expectation may be calculated, and mathematical techniques may be used to determine the complex links among group members. Sociogram-choice scores have been useful in predicting such criteria as individual productivity in factory work and combat effectiveness.

Test content