An introductory psychology class is trying to create an IQ test for cats. They base its items on a canine IQ test. For example, one item determines how many objects the cat can identify by name and then retrieve. This item on their feline IQ test is not _______, because it does not appear to measure what it intends to measure.
Jonah’s parents are absolutely thrilled when they find out that their 8-year old son-scored 138 on his intelligence test. “Do you know what this means,” Jonah’s mother says. “Jonah is in the top ____ percent of IQs in the entire population!” Jonah’s father knows that she is right, because he too has studied the normal curve and knows where the percentages lie.
Erika takes the state achievement math test for all tenth-grade students, and it demonstrates that she correctly answers about 85% of the questions. Because Erika has been earning a B in her math class all year, this agreement between the standardized test and other measures of Erika’s math abilities suggests that the standardized test is, in fact, ________.
Dr. Herkowitz came to the United States when he was a teenager because his parents wanted him to have an excellent education. He recalls how he was initially placed in remedial classes at school. “They thought I was not bright because the tests they used to assess me were all in English, and I did not speak the language very well!” This is a good example of how a test may be ________ when given to some groups of people.