The importance of the normative sample in the standardized tests

Abstract

Psychological tests today are of great interest to researchers and those interested in this field, as they are important in all spheres of life, in education, in industry and in the army. And its preparation subject to a number of considerations, methodological rules and design methods appropriate and adapted to a particular purpose, in the methods of preparing items validities and fidelities, and choosing a reference sample appropriately for develop special standards that describe the performance of members of the normative sample, and which can interpret scores that the individual obtains when applying the test again, for this reason the current study aimed to show the importance of the prescriptive sample when applying the test and the most important factors that should be considered when choosing the test to obtain solid results and accurate interpretations, the right test that is designed on an appropriate compound sample suitable individuals whose performance can be compared to the performance of other individuals. The more the individual to whom the test was applied resembles the members of the normative sample, the more the test is able to correctly predict behavior.