THE RUDIMENTARY

FORMS OF TESTING IN
CHINA IN 2200 B.C
• Historians note the rudimentary forms of testing date back at least 2200
B.C., when the Chinese emperor had his officials examined every third
year to determine the fitness of his officials for office (Bowman, 1989;
Chaffee, 1985; DuBois, 1970; Franke, 1963; Lai, 1970; Teng, 1942–43).
• Testing was redefined and modified over centuries until written exams
were introduced in Han Dynasty (202 B.C – A.D. 200)
Five Topics were tested
1. Civil law
2. Military affairs
3. Agriculture
4. Revenue
5. Geography
Levels of Examination
Preliminary Examination – candidates were required to spend a day
and a night in a small isolated booth composing essays assigned
topics and writing a poem.
District Examination – which required three separate sessions of
three days and three nights.
Final Round of Examination – 3 percent of the examinees became
mandarins eligible for public office.
19th Century: Formal Measurement
Formal Measurement
The beginnings of psychological testing goes hand in hand with the
experimental investigation of individual differences that flourished in
Germany and Great Britain in the late 1800s.
It is here where prominent names came to rise such as Wilhelm
Wundt, Francis Galton and James McKeen Cattell who laid the
foundations for modern day testing.
Hubert Von Grashey (1885) – German physician developed the
antecedent of the memory drum as means of testing brain – injured
patients.
Conrad Rieger – German psychiatrist developed an excessively
ambitious test battery for brain damaged. This includes assessment of
long term memory, visual recognition and short term memory.
The Brass Era of Psychological Testing
Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920) – founding the first laboratory in 1879
in Leipzig Germany. He studies conscious human experience using his
psychological laboratory.
In his experiments he uses:
calibrated pendulum
Wundt’s analysis was relevant to a longstanding problem in astronomy.
Wundt believe that:
For each person there must be a certain speed of thinking, which he
can never exceed with his given mental constitution.
Sir Francis Galton
Pioneered the new experimental psychology in the 19th century Great
Britain.
He attempted to measure the intellect by means of:
1. reaction time,
2. sensitivity to physical stimuli and;
3. body proportion.
He also devise measuring techniques for beauty, personality, the
boringness of lectures and the efficacy of prayer.
Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development – is one of Galton’s
most influential work at sets the beginning of mental test movement and
the advent of the scientific psychology of individual differences.
His procedures were much more amenable to the timely collection of
data from hundreds if not thousands of subjects.
He was regarded as the father of mental testing.

James Mckeen Cattell (1860 – 1944)

He brought the brass instruments to the United States
Undisputed dean on American psychology
He invented the term mental test in his famous paper entitled “Mental
Test and Measurements.”
• The Brass Instrument Tradition in Mental Testing (Gregory
2007)
1. Strength of hand squeeze as measured by dynamometer.
2. Rate of hand movement through distance of 50
centimeters
3. Degree of pressure needed to cause pain – rubber tip
presses against the forehead.
4. Weight differentiation – discern the relative weights of
identical – looking boxes varying by 1 gram from 100 to 110
grams
5. Reaction to time sound.
6. Time for naming colors
 7. Bisection of 50 centimeter line
8. Judgment of 10 seconds of time
9. Number of letters repeated on one hearing.
Some of his students were:
• E. L. Thorndike (1898) who made monumental contributions
to learning theory and educational psychology;
• R. S. Woodworth (1899) who was to author the very
popular and influential Experimental Psychology (1938); and
• Some of his students were:
Clark Wissler (1901) who had the greatest influence on the
early history of psychological testing. His goal was to
demonstrate that the test results could predict academic
performance. He discovered that the brass instrument of
Cattell have no correlation with college grades.
E. K. Strong (1911) whose Vocational Interest Blank

CHANGING CONCEPTIONS OF MENTAL RETARDATION IN THE

1800S.
Modern testing traces its roots to interest in the
classification and training of mentally retarded person in the
early 1800s.
Of significance were the works of:
1. Jean Etienne Esquirol – French physician who developed
some system for classifying the different degrees and
varieties of mental retardation.
According to him: “Idiocy is not a disease but a condition
in which intellectual facilities are never manifested or
have never been developed sufficiently to enable the idiot
to acquire such amount of knowledge as persons of his
own age reared in similar circumstances are capable of
receiving.”
Three levels of mental retardation:
a. those using short phrases
b. those using mono syllables
c. those with cries only, no speech
2. O. Edouard Seguin (1812 – 1880) – a French Physician
helped establish a new humanism towards with those mental
retardation. He pioneered in the training of mentally retarded
persons.
He published Idiocy, and Its Treatment by the Physiological Method,
the first major textbook on the treatment of mental retardation.
3. Alfred Binet – invented the first intelligence test. He collaborated
with Theodore Simon.
Early on, he flirted with a Cattellian approach to intelligence testing,
using the standard measures of reaction time and sensory acuity on
his two daughters.
4. Stern (1912) - proposed the dividing mental age by the chronological
age to obtain an intelligence quotient.
5. Henry Goddard – translated the Binet – Simon Intelligence test into
English in response to his research on the classification and education
of feebleminded children.
6. Charles Spearman (1863 – 1945) – developed the correlation –
based statistical procedure in response to his proposal the two – factor
theory of intelligence.
The need to classify soldiers during World War I resulted in the
development of the two group intelligence test – Army Alpha and the
Army Beta.
7. Robert Woodworth (1869 – 1962)- the forerunner of personality
testing / inventory. He designed the Personal Data Sheet a simple yes –
no checklist of symptoms used to screen WWI recruits for
psychoneurosis. Followed MMPI and Thurstone Personality Schedule
(inventory of neurosis).
Wechsler – Bellevue Intelligence Scale – not only provided an index
of general mental ability but also revealed patterns of intellectual
strengths and weaknesses.
An interest in the newly emerging field of psychoanalytic grew in the
1930s, two important projective techniques introduced systematic
ways to study the unconscious motivation.
1. Rorschach or inkblot test – by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann
Rorschach, using series of ink blot cards
2. Thematic Apperception Test – TAT develop by American
Psychologist Henry Murray and C.D Morgan this uses story telling
procedure.
History of psychological Testing
in the Philippines
The rise of psychologist in the Philippines started when the Philippine
Commission put up a program for Filipinos to got the United States of
America as pensionados to study in various fields of endeavor
including education and psychology.
1. Manuel Carreon – was among the first psychologist. He brought his
dissertation entitled Philippine Studies in Mental Measurements.
Research Evaluation and Guidance Division of the Bureau of
Education in 1924 – was tasked to coordinate the work of teachers
and supervisors in carrying out testing and research programs,
conducting educational surveys and constructing standardized test.
2. Dr. Sinfroso Padilla – established a Psychological clinic in 1932 to
attend to students with problems at the University of the Philippines.
He also reported that psychological test were being used with the
inmates of the Bilibid prison (1934) and in the Welfareville (1936).
50s and 60s Filipino Psychologist and guidance counselors pursued
graduate studies in the US and later brought home several test
materials. But problems in modification arises:
1. Unfamiliarity
2. Problem of language
3. Difficulty in obtaining equivalence in translation
4. Unsuitability of the original norms
Lazo, Vasquez – de Jesus and Edralin Tiglao conducted a research in
1976 in the clinical, educational and industrial setting resulting list
revealed 41 titles which only test were locally constructed the Philippine
Self- administering Test of Mental Ability and Phil- Psychor Geist Pictorial
Interest Inventory
1981 additional locally developed test:
1. Philippine Non – Verbal Intelligence Test
2. PGPA adaptation of Otis Lennon Mental Ability Test
3. Self – Administering Test of Mental Ability
4. Philippine Personality Inventory
Virgilio Enriquez (1992) – advocated Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
In the area of test development he is known for his Panukat ng Ugali’t
Pagkatao
Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino by Annadaisy J. Carlota
The growth of guidance and counseling and psychology which
eventually lead to their professionalization in 2004 and 2009
respectively also led to the growth of psychological testing,
psychometrics and psychological assessment. A number of testing
centers sprung up such as:
1. The Ateneo Center for Psychological and Educational Assessment
2. Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE)
3. Philippine Psychological Corporation
4. Center for Education Measurement
5. MAVEC Specialist Foundation Inc.
6. Behavioral Dynamics Incorporated
7. Asian Psychological Services and Assessment Corporation
Ethical Considerations in
Psychological Testing
• The Republic Act 9258 otherwise known as the Guidance and
Counseling Act of 2004 and Republic Act 10029 otherwise known as
the Psychology Act of 2010 regulated the practice of psychological
testing in the Philippines.
• Based on the Article VII on Assessment and Report of the Code or
Manual of Technical Standards for Licensed and Registered Guidance
Counselors
• The technical standards on Assessment Report touches on the following areas:
1. Qualifications of the practitioner
2. Condition of and about the examinee
3. Choice of test
4. Communicating purpose and results of test
1. Qualifications of the practitioner
a. competence – capability and the know – how in test administration, test
interpretation and preparation of reports
b. professionalism – in terms of mastery of knowledge and skills; efficiency
and effectiveness
c. commitment to maintain the integrity (truthfulness / reliability) or
security of test and other assessment techniques
d. avoidance of basing assessments, recommendations or test results that
are outdated for the current purpose
2. Consideration of the conditions of the client
a. various factors and characteristics of the client being assessed that might
affect their judgment or reduce the accuracy of the interpretation .
b. Client's limitations in understanding language usage and technical terminology
3. Choice of test
a. Meet the purpose for which they are to be used and that are appropriate for
their intended client, are culturally – fair in terms of gender, ethnic background,
religion, race and handicapped conditions
b. Have appropriate norms on which to base the interpretation of test scores
* A client who has not used a computer all of his life and speaks only his local
dialect must not be administered a computerized test in a language that he is not
even conversant with
4. Communicating Purpose and results of the test
a. For minor examinees, ask the consent of the parents /
guardian and explain the purpose of the test
b. Clients are informed about the assessment results in a manner
that is clearly understood.
c. If a copy of the psychological report is to be provided to the
client it has to be stamped with the word confidential.
*Foreign Licensed Guidance Counselors must meet the following
requirements:
a. They are internationally well known guidance counselors or
outstanding experts in psychological testing / assessment
b. The services are necessary for the advancement of
psychological testing through transfer of technology
c. Their services are free and limited to indigent clients in
particular hospitals, centers or clinics
d. They are exchange professors in any branch of psychology of
specialty of guidance and counseling in this case psychological testing
in school, colleges and universities offering guidance and counseling.
The Philippine Psychology Act of
2009
• Who can do psychological assessment
licensed psychologist
Psychometrician – who is under the supervision of a licensed
psychologist.
A Psychometrician can (1)administering and scoring of objective
personality tests, structured personality test, pen and paper
intelligence, achievement and interest test excluding projective test
and other higher level forms of psychological test (2) interpreting
results of the same and preparing written report on these results
 Ethical Standards and
Procedures on Assessment
A. Bases for Assessment
a. The expert opinions that we provide through our recommendations,
reports and diagnostic or evaluative statements are based on substantial
information and appropriate assessment techniques.
b. We provide expert opinions regarding the psychological characteristics
of a person only after employing adequate assessment procedures and
examination to support our conclusions and recommendations.
c. In Instances where we are asked to provide opinions about an
individual without conducting an examination on the basis of review existing
test results and reports, we discuss the limitations of our opinions and the
basis of or conclusions and recommendations
B. Informed Consent in Assessment
a. We gather informed consent prior to the assessment of our clients except
for the following instances:
when it is mandated by the law
when it is implied such as in routine educational, institutional and
organizational activity
when the purpose of the assessment is to determine the individual’s
decision capacity
b. We educate our client’s about the nature of our services, financial
arrangements, potential risk and limits of confidentiality. In instances where our
clients are not competent to provide informed consent on assessment, we discuss
these matters with immediate family members or legal guardians
c. In instances where third party interpreter is needed, the confidentiality of
test results and the security of the tests must be ensured. The limitations of the
obtained data are discussed in our test results, conclusions and recommendations.
C. Assessment tools
a. We judiciously select and administer only those tests which are
pertinent to the reasons for referral and purpose of the assessment
b. We use data collection, methods and procedures that are consistent
with current scientific and professional developments
c. We use test that are standardized, valid, reliable and have normative
data directly referable to the population of our clients.
d. We administer assessment tools that are appropriate to the
language, competence and other relevant characteristics of our clients.
D. Obsolete and outdate test results
a. We do not base our interpretations, conclusions and
recommendations on outdated test results
b. We do not provide interpretations, conclusions and
recommendations on the basis of obsolete test
E. Interpreting Assessment results
a. It is our responsibility to our clients, under no circumstances should we
report the test results without taking into considerations the validity, reliability
and appropriateness of the test. We should therefore indicate our reservations
regarding the interpretations.
b. We interpret assessment results while considering the purpose of the
assessment and other factors such as the client’s test taking abilities,
characteristics, situational, personal and cultural differences.
F. Release of Test Data
a. It is our responsibility to ensure that test results and interpretations are
not used by persons other than those explicitly agreed upon by the referral
sources prior to the assessment procedure.
b. We do not release test data in the forms of raw and scaled scores,
client’s responses to the test questions or stimuli and notes regarding the client’s
statements and behaviors during examination unless regulated by the court
G. Explaining Assessment Results
a. We release test results on to the sources of referral and with a written
permission from the client if it is a self- referral.
b. Where test results have to be communicated to relatives, parents or
teachers we explain them through a non – technical language
c. We explain the findings and test results to our clients or designated
representatives except when the relationship precludes the provision of
explanation of results and it is explained in advance to the client
d. When test results needs to be shared with schools, social agencies, the
courts or industry, we supervises releases

H. Test Security
a. The administration and handling of all test materials (manuals, keys,
answer sheets, reusable booklets etc) shall be handled only by a qualified user or
personnel.
I. Assessment by Unqualified Persons
a. We do not promote the use of assessment tools and methods
by unqualified persons except for training purposes with adequate
supervision.
b. We ensure test protocols, their interpretations and all other
records are kept secured from unqualified person.
J. Test Construction
a. We develop tests and other assessments tools using current
scientific findings and knowledge appropriate psychometric properties,
validation and standardization of procedures.