“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he think, he becomes.” Mahatama Gandhi

With the introduction of psychometrics into the recruitment and evaluation process, users of this instrument have to be extremely vigilant about the tests they take or have done for their employees. There are a number of psychometric instruments in the market and on the web which do not meet or satisfy the five core fundamental characteristics of a psychometric test. The five principals are:

1. Standardized: The test needs to be administered and scored using  standard procedures to avoid any biases in the test reports. The results need to be compared to a reliable norm group as well.

2. Reliable: The reliability of a test is based on the assessment and extent of the variation in test scores, due to differences between people on the trait(s) being measured. The test results need to be consistent across people, time & situations. So if a test says you have an extroverted personality type on your first attempt and on the next attempt says you have have an introverted personality type, the test is an unreliable indicator.

3. Validity: A test is said to be valid if it measures the characteristics, which it is claims to measure. A test used for job selection should predict job performance. A test of verbal ability should predict an applicant’s ability to read and comprehend written material and not some other characteristic. 

4. Objective: The results are not biased or skewed due to personal preferences towards the test taker. For example if the test administer scores the test according to the appearance of the candidate than this would be result in an un-objective assessment.

5. Discriminating: The test should provide you with clear differences between individuals, on the characteristics which are being tested. This will help the the reports to provide a much clearer, transparent and objective assessment of the individual.

These are the five characteristics you should be look for if you plan to implement psychometrics into your organization or for personal development. All reputable test providers have this information on hand for the tests that they administer. In order to gain maximum benefit from this , vigilance needs to be taken to ensure correct and accurate results.