What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

Test Standards Revision: Call for Comments

Wayne Camara
The College Board

A revision of the 1999 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing has been approved by the three sponsoring associations: American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME). The revision will begin with a general call for comments from members of the associations and other groups and individuals having expertise and interest in educational and psychological testing. 

In 2005, the sponsoring associations (AERA, APA, and NCME) appointed a management committee that is responsible for determining the general scope and emphasis of the revision, coordinating input and review of the revision, overseeing the financial and managerial aspects of the revision, and appointing chairs and members of the Joint Committee who will conduct the revision.  The Management Committee is pleased to appoint Barbara Plake, emeritus professor and former director of Buros Testing Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Lauress Wise, president of Human Resources Research Organization as co-chairs for the upcoming revision of the Testing Standards. Both individuals have made broad and continuous scientific, applied, and policy-related contributions to educational and psychological testing.

Dr. Plake has served on the National Research Council Panel for the Assessment of Teaching and co-chaired the panel for the Redesign of the U.S. Naturalization Test.  In addition, she served as co-editor of the Mental Measurements Yearbook and the Tests in Print series, and co-founded/co-edited the journal Applied Measurement in Education.  She is a past president of NCME, a prior officer in AERA Division D, and a previous member of APA’s Committee of Psychological Tests and Assessments.  She has received Career Contribution Awards from both NCME and the Association of Test Publishers.  She was on the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a research associate for American College Testing Programs. She serves on the technical advisory committees for several state assessment programs and for other assessment programs.
Dr. Wise has served on panels for both the National Academy of Education and National Academy of Science evaluations of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and as co-principal investigator on the National Academy of Sciences study to evaluate the Voluntary National Tests. Dr. Wise served on and later chaired the National Academy of Science Board on Testing and Assessment. Dr. Wise’s work at HumRRO includes an ongoing evaluation of the impact of the California High School Graduation Test (since 2000) and quality assurance work for NAEP. Before joining HumRRO, Dr. Wise was the director of research and development for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), and prior to that, he was chief psychometrician for the Medical College Admissions Test.

The Management Committee has posted a call for comments at
http://teststandards.org. Individuals and organizations are welcome to submit comments on line through mid October. Once all comments have been received and reviewed, the Management Committee, with collaboration from the co-chairs, will determine the general areas or priorities for the revision and timeline.  Based on the scope and focus of the revision, individual members with expertise in testing will be appointed a joint committee to begin the revision of the Standards in 2008. 

The 1999 Standards are the 3rd revision of the joint standards, with separate standards on psychological and educational testing standards created by APA and AERA and NCME in 1955 and 1956, respectively.  The Standards have been frequently cited in federal and state legislation, court decisions, and other policy and legal documents as the preeminent professional and scientific guidelines on the development, use, and validation of psychological and educational tests and assessments.  The Management Committee and co-chairs, and joint committee will welcome your comments with regard to the revision of the Standards.

The management committee is comprised of: Wayne Camara (chair), The College Board; David Frisbie, University of Iowa; and Suzanne Lane, University of Pittsburg.