| Schedule Winter 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| This schedule may change during Winter term | ||
| Date | Topic | Assignment |
| 01/02/25 | Introduction and syllabus | Watch introduction video |
| 01/03/25 | Introduction to test theory history and background | |
| 01/03/25 | Norms and Standardized Scores | Discussion |
| 01/07/25 | Reliability and Classical Test Theory | |
| 01/09/25 | Validity | |
| 01/10/25 | Test Development | Discussion |
| 01/12/25 | Final project’s introduction due | Submit on Canvas |
| 01/14/25 | Writing cognitive items | |
| 01/16/25 | Writing non-cognitive items | |
| 01/17/25 | Bias fairness and legal issues | Discussion |
| 01/21/25 | Intelligence measurement | Discussion |
| 01/22/25 | Final project due | Submit on Canvas |
Introduction to Psychological Testing, PSYC3160
Winter Term 2025
Important
Course time: Fully online.
Professor: Esteban Montenegro-Montenegro, PhD.
Office hours online: Schedule an appointment by clicking HERE or send me an email.
Email: emontenegro1@csustan.edu
Course description
Course description (from course catalog): Basic, widely applicable principles of psychological testing presented in a nontechnical way, plus descriptions of representative types of psycholgical tests in common use.
Pre-requisites: PSYC 2020 Introduction to Psychological Methods.
Course Introduction: This course is designed to give you a basic understanding of the most common topics, problems, and applications of psychological testing. We will study some history facts along with theoretical discussions. This course will borrow information from a field named psychometrics. Math will not be necessary in this course, but I wish I could add some statistical concepts.
Course Structure: This course will be fully online (asynchronous) which means we won’t meet in person. But you may request video meetings with me at any time. Students will create discussions online, and will work in groups. I know it is hard to work in groups when the course is online, but I believe it can be beneficial to meet other peers, plus the assignments will be easy to split between group members. Finally, I will be posting a video lecture summarizing important points in each topic. You may watch the video, and/or read the book chapter.
Course Learning Objectives
- Understand the fundamental concepts of psychological testing.
- Learn the historical and theoretical foundations of psychological testing.
- Develop skills in test construction.
- Understand the application of psychological tests in various settings.
Course Materials:
This class will not require any text book, however I will borrow information from several sources, and I’ll add several documents on Canvas. You will see the list of references in the bibliography section. You will also have access to my website where you’ll find all lectures, and additional information. My wepage is always under construction please let me know if something you need is missing.
Microsoft Office programs (PowerPoint, Word, Excel): You may use Word or any other text processor to submit your assignments. Google doc will also work for this class.
Evaluation
Discussions (50%): There will be four discussions online where you will have to start a discussion and reply to at least one comment. Comments are related to book chapters, or scientific articles. I will indicate what is the document you have to read to create a thread. The comment has to be at least 140 words and reply has to be at least 100 words.
Create a new measurement (50%): Students will work individually to create a new instrument to measure a psychological construct. I will create a list of possible psychological constructs, but students are free to propose a construct that is not included in the list. At the end of the second week, students will have to submit a draft of the introduction.
The document you will submit must have:
- Introduction: This section details the literature review, aims of the new test, scale, observation protocol, interview protocol, or cognitive task. The student should define the construct in this section.
- Methods section: You won’t have time this semester to collect data with your new instrument, but you have to describe how would you collect data, how would you recruit people, and how many latent factors are you measuring. Also, you need to describe how you will evaluate validity and reliability. You may propose to add other constructs to validate your new instrument.
- Results: In real life you would have results because you could collect information. But this is not the case in this online class. Results section is not necessary.
- Discussion: Write a small discussion where you balance the literature review mentioned in the introduction, you should also discuss how your new instrument is better compared to other instruments, you may also describe limitations.
- References: You should add a reference list in APA style.
- Appendix: Add the items, questions, or tasks you aim to test.
The document should be maximum 10 pages, you may use fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman size 12.
Late work: Late assignments will be accepted up to 48 hours after the deadline. Points will be deducted as follows: one day later will deduct 15% of your grade, two days late represents 25% less in your grade, three days delayed is 0% of your grade. These rules sound strict, but in real application I’m flexible with deadlines. Please send me an email if you need more time. Nonetheles, in a Winter course the extesion can’t be long.
Disputing a score: Students are welcome to dispute a score if they believe they were incorrectly deducted for their work. For this, students must provide a written explanation, specifying why they were incorrectly graded. For non-final assignments or exams, this must be done within seven (7) days from the date the score was posted on Canvas. For final assignments or exams, this must be done before final course grades are submitted; your instructor will post an announcement on Canvas with this date.
Final Grades: Grades are based on all weighted evaluation categories (participation activities, graded assignments, and exams) total points. Letter grades will be assigned using the following percentages (rounded to the second decimal point):
| Grading Criteria | |
|---|---|
A = 93 - 100 \(A^-\)= 90-93 \(B^+\) = 87-90 B = 83-87 \(B^-\) = 80-83 |
C = 73-77 \(C^-\) = 70-73 D = 63-67 \(D^-\) = 60 - 63 |
Expectations and Policies
Communication skills: You are expected to exercise strong academic verbal and writing skills for expressing yourself to complete class assignments. Failing to clearly communicate your ideas on class assignments may result in you losing points on that assignment. You also need strong analytical and critical thinking skills for completing weekly tasks. I will do my best to respond to emails within 1 - 2 business days (Monday through Friday). If you do not hear back from me within this time interval, send me a follow-up email that includes your original email message. Please keep in mind that if your email question is sent at the last minute it may not be possible to send you a response right before the submission of an assignment or exam. Before emailing me, please see if the answer to your question can be found on the course syllabus, schedule, or Canvas webpage.
Can students use AI software?: AI is a tool that can help you to maximize your learning process but you have to use it wisely. If I notice you are using Chat GPT or any other AI software to write all your work I will ask you to resubmit your work. But many times I will fail to notice it. It is up to you what type of professional you want to be. You can use AI to improve your writting but don’t use it to write all your work, you won’t learn anything if you do.
Diversity: I will always embrace diversity as the most important human value. It is expected that students understand the importance of creating diverse and safe places free of discrimination by gender, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. I am an ally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) community, and I am available to listen and support you in an affirming manner. I can assist in connecting you with resources on campus to address problems you may face pertaining to sexual orientation and/or gender identity that could interfere with your success at Stan State.
Academic misconduct: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Instances of academic misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) will result in a grade of zero on the exam/assignment in question. Additionally, you may also receive a lower letter grade or “F” in the class, be reported to Judicial Affairs for academic misconduct activity tracking or disciplinary action, suspended or expelled from the university. It is your responsibility to know the rules. Always paraphrase and cite the source properly according to APA style, avoid copying sentences unless they are necessary, and you cite the author in APA style. Always cite your source! In detail, pay attention to the California Code of Regulations:
Warning
“Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 41301 notes that students may be”expelled, suspended, placed on probation, or given a lesser sanction for one or more of the following causes which must be campus related: 1. Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus. . . .” (see “Student Rights & Responsibilities” section of the current Stanislaus State catalog).”
APA Style: Unfortunately, I have to enforce the use of APA style, this is important to generate clean and tidy documentation while you follow scientific formatting. You have to follow the APA style 7th edition, I would recommend to buy the manual or just use this website, it has plenty of information about it, it also provides tools to generate references and citations: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a documented disability at Stan State, please see me immediately to discuss appropriate accommodations. You must email me your letter of accommodation from Stan State’s DRS department as soon as possible. For exam accommodations, you must email me your accommodation letter at least seven days (7) before a scheduled exam to receive your accommodation (see schedule for exam dates). Contact me via email if you wish to discuss your accommodation or if you are in the process of registering for DRS services. Note, that accommodations are not provided retroactively.
Student Resources
Here are some of the resources available to you here at Stan State. All these services are available to you, as a Stan State student, free of charge (except certain medical appointments and procedures). Please visit their web pages to learn more about the services they provide.
Basic Need Support: 209-667-3108. Resources are available to help with securing food and emergency finances.
Student Health Center: 209-667-3396. Medical care, health education, disease prevention, laboratory testing, physicals, women’s and reproductive health, flu shots, immunizations.
Disability Resource Services: 209-667-3159. Supports students and arranges accommodations for students with disabilities, including disabilities related to learning, vision, mobility, hearing, autism, or chronic or temporary health factors.
Psychological Counseling Services: 209-667-3381. Confidential individual personal counseling and group/wellness workshops to help students deal with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationships.
Diversity Resources: Workshops, student space, reading nook, complimentary coffee and tea, social justice library, conference room space.
Undocumented Student Services: 209-667-3519. Walk-in advising, workshops, legal services, DACA renewal, scholarships, peer support, family and community engagement.
Academic Success Center: 209-667-3700. Drop-in advising for general education, university requirements, undeclared majors, academic probation, and California Promise.
Learning Commons: 209-667-3642, Tutoring (walk-in and regular appointments), supplemental instruction, WPST, writing center.
Career and Professional Development: 209-667-3661. Career coaching, workshops, resume building, business attire.
Warrior Food Pantry: 209-667-3561. Non-perishable food items and toiletries, at no cost. Collect up to 10 items per week.
Student Affairs: 209-667-3177. General hub for all student academic and support services on campus.
Class Schedule
The following class schedule is always under construction, which might change every week. You will receive a notification if there are changes. If not, you will not be penalized because of any unannounced change.
Warning
You should always check Canvas, I might add additional readings such as scientific articles, press articles or videos.
Book Chapters
| Readings’ Schedule Winter 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| This schedule may change during Winter term | ||
| Date | Authors | Book chapter |
| 01/02/25 | No reading | n/A |
| 01/03/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018), Bandalos (2018) | Chapter 1 |
| 01/03/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018) | Chapter 2 |
| 01/07/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018) | Chapter 4 |
| 01/09/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018) | Chapter 5 |
| 01/10/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018), Bandalos (2018) | Chapter 6, Chapter 3 |
| 01/14/25 | Bandalos (2018) | Chapter 4 |
| 01/16/25 | Bandalos (2018) | Chapter 5 |
| 01/17/25 | Bandalos (2018) | Chapter 16 |
| 01/21/25 | Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2018) | Chapter 9 |
References
Bandalos, D. L. (2018). Measurement theory and applications for the social sciences. Guilford Publications.
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2018). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Pacific grove, CA: brooks. Cole Publishing Company.