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Articles and white papers
Here you will find a selection of Angus’ papers, most of which are on psychological assessment. Short summaries are given here, but full papers can be downloaded as pdfs. Please feel free to download and disseminate these.
Adding value through the use of internet-based testing Internet technology has had a major impact on psychometric testing and raises many issues around best practice in test use. Whilst there are many advantages associated with internet testing it also poses a number of significant challenges to good test use, particularly in terms of the quality of test materials, effective administration and the authenticity of test results. These challenges, however, need not undermine the effectiveness of tests when they are used sensitively and with due regard for the issues raised by remote testing through the internet. This paper explores the major issues in internet testing and offers practical advice for users to ensure best practice is maintained.
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Making sure we measure up: Test standards in the 21st century Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing market in testing and test use, this article explores two approaches to setting test standards – those of the Business Test Publishers Association and the British Psychological Society. Changes in test use, particularly as a result of new technologies, mean that standards have not always kept pace and developments to standards have been reactive rather than anticipating market trends. The ‘commoditisation’ of tests is a particular challenge to standards as is internet testing, and any standards that are fit for purpose need to recognise both market changes and the multiple stakeholders in the testing process.
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Personal narrative and personal development Our personal narratives – the stories we tell about ourselves – are highly individual and constantly evolving. Personal development can be thought of as a way of helping us revise, update and enrich our personal stories. Psychometrics is one approach that can be used to help us revise our personal stories through increasing self-awareness or viewing situations from a different perspective. This short article gives some of my reflections on integrating the common frameworks that underpin psychometrics into our personal narratives.
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Does psychometric testing offer a solution to university selection? Are A level grades the best way of selecting students for higher education or does that favour the wealthy and the middle class? For the past 75 years, many American colleges have used the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) as part of their selection procedure. Does this offer a positive way forward for the United Kingdom? This article summarises the findings of research commissioned by the Sutton Trust and conducted whilst I was at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).