Leslie A. Miller - Foundations of Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach

A Practical Approach

Sixth Edition

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-5063-9640-8

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

We originally wrote the first edition of Foundations of Psychological Testing in response to the growing need for a scholarly, yet pragmatic and easy-to-understand, introductory textbook for students new to the field of psychological testing and to the concepts of statistics and psychometrics that support its practice. As with the five previous editions of this textbook, we had two primary objectives in writing the sixth edition. Our first objective was to prepare students to be informed consumers of psychological testsas test users or test takersrather than to teach students to administer or interpret individual psychological tests. To meet our objective, in each edition we have focused the first two thirds of the textbook primarily on the basic concepts, issues, and tools used in psychological testing and their relevance to daily life. We have focused the last third of the book on how tests are used in educational, clinical/counseling, and organizational settings.

Our second objective for each edition has been to present information in a way that is maximally conducive to student learning. Over the years, many of our students have lamented that textbooks do not always explain material as clearly as a professor would during a class lecture. Students have also said that textbooks lack practical application of the material covered. We have designed this textbook, and each edition, with those students comments in mind. Not only does Foundations of Psychological Testing provide a fresh look at the field of psychological testing, but also we continue to write in a style that we believe will encourage and promote student learning and enthusiasm.

We focus on communicating the basics of psychological testing clearly and concisely, and we relate these basics to practical situations that students can recognize and understand. We also present information at a comfortable reading level and in a conversational format. Although current textbooks on psychological testing continue to move in this direction, we believe that some books are too complex and contain more detailed discussion of certain technical issues than is necessary for students first introduction to testing.