Best practice guide to psychometric testing

Below is a short best practice guide to using Psychometric Testing in a learning and development context. Also look out for our upcoming psychometrics guidelines presentation on youtube, and see our previous posts on the advantages of psychometric testing and the possible problems with psychometric testing.

- Follow agreements: we advise test users to avoid any temptation to cut corners and use illegal copies of tests and materials; you should stick within the contractual and licence agreements. If you are a charity or other not-for-profit organisation, contact the test publishers for possible concessionary rates.

- Choose carefully: there are so many psychological tests on offer that it can be hard for the test user to know where to start. We suggest that the most important starting point in choosing a test is to know what needs to be measured and why. Once this is clarified, you can consider whether or not a psychometric test is the best way of measuring it.

- Find a provider with comprehensive information: good psychometric tests are based on established psychological theory, rigorous development and extensive research. Test providers should always be able to provide you with the relevant information: the test’s intended use; its validity and reliability; how it is administered, what norms and reference groups it uses (e.g. you do not want to assess your senior management team against a group of young school leavers), and whether it’s available in different languages.

- Choose an experienced practitioner: in the UK, most test providers will only sell their tests to accredited users. The British Psychological Society (BPS) also accredits people, at two distinct levels of competence: Level A which covers basic theory, administration and the use of some straightforward tests and Level B covers the more complex and advanced area of personality profiles.

- Consider training a member of staff: if you anticipate the need to use psychometric tests and profiles fairly frequently it may be useful to have a suitable member of staff trained or accredited. If that is not practical for your organisation, or if your testing needs are more complex, then consider hiring the services of an accredited and experienced practitioner, either freelance or working with one of the specialist consultancies.

- Put in place a company policy: finally, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) recommends that organisations establish a clear company policy, stating the criteria for using psychometric testing, the process for selecting tests, how tests are administered, how test information will be stored and who will have access to the results. Having such a policy in place will help to ensure your organisation sticks to best practice and complies with legal guidelines regarding discrimination and data protection.

See our psychometric testing page for more information on psychometric testing and details of specific tools. For a further idea of how psychometric tests can fit into a broader leadership development programme, or for any questions following the above guide, don’t hesitate to contact us (enquiries@lcp.org.uk).

UPDATE 1/3/2012: You can now download our psychometric testing glossary here (PDF)

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