Joe Reiss, Software Developer
May 26, 2015
Without realizing, we can relate simple everyday tasks to physics. After a company party, our featured blog writer compares well known theories and principles to come up with his own opinion of true scores.
The Strasz Holiday Party of 2014 featured a test that all the employees were asked to take. In the spirit of the season, the employees (including myself) looked at this as part of the fun and games of the party. Prizes were to be given to the three people with the highest scores.
Our source material for studying was a document filled with assessment industry terms. As with any test I’ve taken in my life, I need to memorize things by trying to equate the terms to things that I’m already familiar with. When I saw the term ‘True Score’ — part of Classical Test Theory — I turned to Wikipedia for a quick read for more details.
As I read about Classical Test Theory (including True Scores) I started to relate it to one of my passions — reading about physics. Physics has two subjects that have always interested me: relativity and quantum mechanics.
Part of quantum mechanics deals with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that is there is an inherent limit to human knowledge. For example, when looking at matter on some of the smallest scales — let’s say an electron — there is fundamental limit in knowing both where an electron is moving (its velocity) and its absolute position at any given point in time. In other words, the more we know about one, the less we know about the other.
The basic equation is:
Here (h) is a ‘Planck’s constant’ — the smallest unit of measurement that humans can make.
It struck me that in a way that is similar to Classical Test Theory. Classical Test Theory’s basic equation is:
Or:
Both equations deal with variance and an observed measurement. Both equations say there will always be an inherent limit in observing or measuring any phenomena. One of the conclusions that I draw from this: tests should just be one aspect in measuring a person’s skills in any given subject. In other words, humans are more than the sum total of their test scores.
Joe Reiss, Software Developer
May 26, 2015
Without realizing, we can relate simple everyday tasks to physics. After a company party, our featured blog writer compares well known theories and principles to come up with his own opinion of true scores.
The Strasz Holiday Party of 2014 featured a test that all the employees were asked to take. In the spirit of the season, the employees (including myself) looked at this as part of the fun and games of the party. Prizes were to be given to the three people with the highest scores.
Our source material for studying was a document filled with assessment industry terms. As with any test I’ve taken in my life, I need to memorize things by trying to equate the terms to things that I’m already familiar with. When I saw the term ‘True Score’ — part of Classical Test Theory — I turned to Wikipedia for a quick read for more details.
As I read about Classical Test Theory (including True Scores) I started to relate it to one of my passions — reading about physics. Physics has two subjects that have always interested me: relativity and quantum mechanics.
Part of quantum mechanics deals with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that is there is an inherent limit to human knowledge. For example, when looking at matter on some of the smallest scales — let’s say an electron — there is fundamental limit in knowing both where an electron is moving (its velocity) and its absolute position at any given point in time. In other words, the more we know about one, the less we know about the other.
The basic equation is:
Here (h) is a ‘Planck’s constant’ — the smallest unit of measurement that humans can make.
It struck me that in a way that is similar to Classical Test Theory. Classical Test Theory’s basic equation is:
Or:
Both equations deal with variance and an observed measurement. Both equations say there will always be an inherent limit in observing or measuring any phenomena. One of the conclusions that I draw from this: tests should just be one aspect in measuring a person’s skills in any given subject. In other words, humans are more than the sum total of their test scores.