Classical test theory is a body of related psychometric theory that predicts outcomes of psychological testing such as the difficulty of items or the ability of test-takers. Generally speaking, the aim of classical test theory is to understand and improve the reliability of psychological tests.
Classical test theory may be regarded as roughly synonymous with true score theory. The term "classical" refers not only to the chronology of these models but also contrasts with the more recent psychometric theories, generally referred to collectively as item response theory, which sometimes bear the appellation "modern" as in "modern latent trait theory".
Classical test theory as we know it today was codified by Novick (1966) and described in classic texts such as Lord & Novick (1968) and Allen & Yen (1979/2002). The description of classical test theory below follows these seminal publications.
Read more about Classical Test Theory: History, Definitions, Evaluating Tests and Scores: Reliability, Evaluating Items: P and Item-total Correlations, Alternatives, Shortcomings of Classical Test Theory
Famous quotes containing the words classical, test and/or theory:
“Against classical philosophy: thinking about eternity or the immensity of the universe does not lessen my unhappiness.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it.”
—Elizabeth Drew (18871965)
“Wont this whole instinct matter bear revision?
Wont almost any theory bear revision?
To err is human, not to, animal.”
—Robert Frost (18741963)