Assessments

Assessments are tools used in evaluating different attributes about an individual. Some assessments seek to evaluate an individual’s intelligence while others examine an individual’s behavior. Despite the wide variety of assessment platforms, it is essential to highlight that different tests have strengths as well as limitations. These perspectives influence the validity and reliability of tests. The elements are increasingly essential in evaluating the effectiveness of tests. This paper seeks to identify different types of assessments. Additionally, the paper will also seek to establish the characteristics of each test.

IQ Tests

IQ tests are assessments used to determine an individual’s intelligence. This applies to the education sector as well as in a working environment. Prior to hiring employees, it is always essential for an organization to evaluate an individual’s level of intelligence. In essence, intelligence can influence an individual’s capacity to perform in an organization. Different types of assessments are available to test an individual’s intelligence. Some IQ tests assign scores from one to ten. If an individual has a score of ten in the IQ test, it shows that he is highly intelligent (Kaplan, 2008).

On the lower scale, if an individual has a score of less than five, it shows that his intelligence level is extremely low. The Raven’s Progressive Matrix is among the most outstanding types of IQ tests. This assessment platform is applicable to both adults and children. Multiple choices are the main components in this assessment platform. The individual’s performance in the multiple choice questions helps in determining his intelligence score. The Wechsler Scale is another type of test used to assess an individual’s intelligence. As with Raven’s Matrix, the Wechsler Scale provides an excellent platform for assessing the intelligence of adults as well as young learners. In essence, this test uses a performance scale to assess the capacity of an individual’s memory (Scott, 2010).

Value and Limitations

IQ tests have different benefits as well as shortcomings. The first benefit of this assessment is that it serves as an excellent basis for evaluating the memory capacity. This is dissimilar from other tests like written tests. It is also vital to note that intelligence serves as an indicator of other individual attributes such as communication skills. Consequently, it is possible to examine numerous perspectives using IQ tests. In terms of weaknesses, IQ tests might give the wrong impression about an individual. For instance, the Wechsler Scale does not have an effective framework for examining an individual’s attributes in terms of social interactions (Carter, 2009).

Reliability and Validity

Reliability and validity are two essential perspectives that are useful in terms of assessing the effectiveness of assessments. In essence, an effective test has high standards of validity. This occurs when the test has an excellent standard of accuracy. On the other hand, an ineffective test has minimal validity. This is mostly occurs when the test has low accuracy. The different IQ tests have different standards of validity as well as reliability. The Wechsler Scale is highly reliable with regard to the evaluation of an individual’s memory capacity. Similarly, the Raven’s framework is highly reliable with regard to the assessment of an individual’s intelligence. This is because it has an accuracy level of more than 70% (Scott, 2010).

Written Tests

In addition to IQ tests, written tests are also another form of assessment. These types of assessments are usually nonverbal. The application of written tests is mostly evident in educational settings. In essence, there is a time limit for the written tests. This makes it possible to assess what the student can accomplish within the specified time. The score from the written test helps in indicating the student’s knowledge (Kaplan, 2008).

Value and Limitations

As with the IQ tests, written tests have different values and shortcomings. In terms of advantages, written tests are extremely effective in evaluating an individual’s thinking capacity. This is because the student answers the questions over a certain period. The second advantage of this assessment framework pertains to simplicity. In contrast to other assessment frameworks, written tests are quite precise. This is because they involve minimal complexities. On the other hand, the most notable limitation of written tests pertains to the omission of verbal assessments (Scott, 2010). Using the written tests, it is not possible for the evaluator to assess an individual’s intelligence from a verbal perspective.

Validity and Reliability

Written tests are highly reliable in educational settings. This is because they show a student’s capacity to reason critically. They are also reliable in that they help in evaluating the knowledge gained by a student over a given period.

Performance Tests

This serves as another outstanding type of assessment. In essence, these types of tests seek to evaluate an individual’s capacity to complete a given task successfully. Additionally, performance tests are useful in evaluating whether an individual can complete a given task within a certain time limit. In most cases, they tests apply to employee settings. This is when the evaluator wants to assess the employees’ capacity to complete certain tasks. The score for performance tests is based on the individual’s capacity to complete the tasks within the specified time framework (Carter, 2009).

Value and Limitations

In comparison to other types of assessments, performance tests are advantageous in that they are effective within an employee setting. This is different from other tests which are minimally effective in these kinds of settings. Performance tests are also advantageous in that they help in evaluating an individual’s skills in certain tasks (Kaplan, 2008). This is among the most pertinent perspectives within a working environment. On the contrary, performance tests are not applicable in most educational settings. This is because they do not emphasize on intelligence.

Reliability and Validity

The standards of validity for performance tests depend on the prevailing settings. If the settings facilitate for the evaluation of numerous attributes, the standards of validity are high. However, performance tests are minimally reliable if they are used in educational settings (Kaplan, 2008).

Conclusion

The paper encompasses are evaluation of different types of assessments. The main tests in this paper include IQ tests, performance tests and written tests. Some IQ tests assign scores from one to ten. If an individual has a score of ten in the IQ test, it shows that he is highly intelligent. On the lower scale, if an individual has a score of less than five, it shows that his intelligence level is extremely low. The Raven’s Progressive Matrix is among the most outstanding types of IQ tests. The application of written tests is mostly evident in educational settings. In essence, there is a time limit for the written tests. This makes it possible to assess what the student can accomplish within the specified time.

References

Carter, P. (2009). The complete book of intelligence tests. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Kaplan, R. & Saccuzzo, D. (2008). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning

Scott, J. & Reynolds, D. (2010). Handbook of workplace assessment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons

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