Revision of the Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing Completed
Dianne Brown Maranto
The Maranto Group
The revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
is now complete and the new book is available from SIOP, at a discount to SIOP
members (look for the ad in this TIP). In addition to reflecting more
current measurement technology and policy, the 1999 Standards differs
from 1985 in a number of ways. First, there is more prefatory or introductory
text at the beginning of each chapter, as well as more standards. Second, the
standards are not categorized with hierarchical labels like "primary,"
"secondary" or "conditional" as with previous versions.
Instead, conditional statements are included in the text of the standards.
Finally, the glossary and index are significantly expanded.
Summary of Revision Project
The Standards revision process was rigorous and diligent in seeking input
from the broad measurement community. The presidents of the American
Psychological Association (APA), the American Educational Research Association (AERA),
and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) appointed a 15
member Committee in 1993, assembling a group with diverse backgrounds and
perspectives in testing and assessment. The project began in the fall of 1993,
and the Joint Committee had its last meeting in November, 1998. Although it may
seem like a long time, previous revisions also reportedly took 5 to 7 years.
This revision effort began somewhat late, 8 years after publication of the 1985
edition. Draft versions of the Standards were widely distributed for
public review and comment three times during this revision effort, providing the
Committee with a total of nearly 8,000 pages of comments from over 200
organizations and individuals. An extensive legal review was conducted as a
routine part of the process of developing standards and explored both liability
issues, as well as compatibility with relevant federal law. The final product
represents a consensus of the Committee and endorsement of each of the
sponsoring organizations: APA, AERA and NCME.
Thank You Paul Sackett, Jo-Ida Hansen, and Bert Green
I-O psychologists owe a great debt of gratitude to Paul Sackett for
his contribution to the Standards, both as an I-O psychologist and as a
leader of the project. The Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing has been co-developed by APA, AERA, and NCME since the first joint
version in 1966. The original impetus for collaborating was the recognition that
measurement principles are the same whether in education or psychology. As time
has passed and testing has become more prevalent in many diverse areas of
society, and as legislation and policy have had different effects on the various
uses of tests, the commonality of measurement principles seems more elusive than
before. Newer ways of conceptualizing validity or the Americans with
Disabilities Act can be interpreted in widely different ways for different
applications of testing. This was not an easy interdisciplinary collaboration
and Paul represented our field well. While not meaning to neglect or diminish
the contributions of other committee members, two others also contributed
significantly to the representation and coverage of I-O and related areas of
testing. We owe a special thanks to Bert Green and Jo-Ida Hansen.
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