The "Test Adaptation Reporting Standards" (TARES), or "TARES statement" was developed to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of test adaptation procedures. The TARES contains a short preamble and a checklist, that comprises an evidence-based minimum set of information for reporting in test adaptations. The TARES statement was developed by an international group of experts, under the umbrella of the International Test Commission (ITC) to support an increase in the accuracy, transparency, and usefulness of test adaptations documentation. This paper reports on the context and motivation for generating the TARES statement, describes the development process, discusses the TARES checklist structure and components, and suggests potential uses.

The United Kingdom is more properly called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where Great Britain includes the nations of Scotland, England, and Wales. In this chapter we will see that the development of psychological assessment as a science in the United Kingdom and more widely proceeded in parallel with and in interaction with the development of psychometrics as a set of measurement tools, which in turn was used to support a world view at that time which saw psychological differences as relatively fixed attributes that were only primarily changeable through genetic changes. We also track the development of assessment methods which were influenced strongly by the two World Wars. The greatest changes and developments in testing and assessment in the United Kingdom took place in occupational job selection and training settings before they had an impact on practice in clinical and educational assessment. As a consequence, this chapter focuses on the history of occupational assessment rather than on developments in the clinical and educational fields.

The history of psychology in general and of assessment in particular in the Nordic countries is not very well covered in the relevant international literature. The few articles and books one can find are mostly written in the respective native languages of these countries. The information in this chapter is taken mainly from K.H. Teigen (2015), with other information also coming from a number of articles and additional sources as cited. This chapter covers the history of assessment and its development in the Nordic countries with emphasis on Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, with some reference to Finland.

This chapter describes the development of an internationally relevant model of core competences for practitioner psychologists. These competences provide a mechanism to facilitate international practice and enhance global mobility by promoting a coherent professional identity and a foundation for mutual recognition and reconciliation of differences related to professional preparation, credentialing and conduct of practicing psychologists around the world. Achieving mutual recognition and professional mobility across countries depends on promoting greater professional cohesion about what it means to be a psychologist. This involves developing common understandings of how the profession remains consistent despite the national, regional, and cultural differences that exist. There is a need to promote the profession across the world and explain the unique perspective that psychologists bring to addressing human and societal problems. We must find the core commonalities that define the profession of psychology as distinct from other helping professions despite variations across the globe in training, credentialing, and practice. The international community of psychologists and psychology organizations must take bold and innovative action to deal with these challenges. The International Declaration on Core Competences in Professional Psychology was developed by the International Project on Competences in Psychology (IPCP) and endorsed by the major international psychology professional organizations in 2016. The chapter outlines the methods used to develop the initial draft set of competences that became the final Declaration and discusses how to expand and enhance the Declaration to make it more relevant and useful to various potential users. The chapter concludes with a proposal to explore the use of these core competences to promote a coherent global professional identity and to facilitate international practice and mobility.

Based on attraction–selection–attrition theory, human capital resources theory, person-organization fit theory and organizational climate/culture strength theory we hypothesize that (1) Big 5 aggregate conscientiousness, emotional stability and agreeableness will be significantly related to organizational financial performance (only conscientiousness is significant), (2) that interaction effects of Big 5 means and SDs will be reflected in organizational financial performance (not supported), and (3) that Big 5 strength (variance) alone is a significant correlate of organizational financial performance (supported for all but extraversion). In addition, an aggregate of strength across the Big 5 facets is also a significant correlate of organizational financial performance. Limitations and implications of these findings for future research on aggregate personality and practice are discussed.

Standards and guidelines in assessment cover three related areas: the people who use tests, the tests the people use, and the process of assessment within which tests are used. Both nationally and internationally, all three of these issues have been addressed in various ways.

Based on attraction–selection–attrition theory, human capital resources theory, person‐organization fit theory and organizational climate/culture strength theory we hypothesize that (1) Big 5 aggregate conscientiousness, emotional stability and agreeableness will be significantly related to organizational financial performance (only conscientiousness is significant), (2) that interaction effects of Big 5 means and SDs will be reflected in organizational financial performance (not supported), and (3) that Big 5 strength (variance) alone is a significant correlate of organizational financial performance (supported for all but extraversion). In addition, an aggregate of strength across the Big 5 facets is also a significant correlate of organizational financial performance. Limitations and implications of these findings for future research on aggregate personality and practice are discussed.Practitioner points Selection on the basis of conscientiousness will yield not only effective individual performance but may also be reflected in organizational financial performance as well. Firms should be attentive to the variance in the attributes of those hired because smaller aggregate variance on all but extraversion Big 5 attributes is significantly reflected in organizational financial performance.

This chapter will outline the ways in which computer technology can be used in selection. In so doing, it will take a broad view of the literature and current practice to consider not just what is being done but also what could and, no doubt, will be done in the future. Thus we will also look at some work in areas outside of selection: for example, educational testing and assessment for licensing and certification, where these provide insights into how selection practices may change. It is not the intention of this chapter to provide an exhaustive review of the literature on computer-based testing (CBT) and the Internet; rather it will attempt to illustrate how these technologies are being used in selection and how they could be used. In particular, it will focus on practice issues arising from the application of these technologies.

There has been much speculation regarding the influence of cultural norms on the acceptance and use of personnel selection testing. This study examined the cross-level direct effects of four societal cultural variables (performance orientation, future orientation, uncertainty avoidance, and tightness–looseness) on selection practices of organisations in 23 countries. A total of 1,153 HR professionals responded to a survey regarding testing practices in hiring contexts. Overall, little evidence of a connection between cultural practices and selection practices emerged. Implications of these findings for personnel selection and cross-cultural research as well as directions for future work in this area are described.

This chapter focuses on international standards and guidelines that relate to tests and testing. It covers the work of the ITC (International Test Commission) and other international initiatives that have been influenced by that work, notably the work of EFPA (European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations) and of ISO (International Standards Organization). The authors discuss the need for international standards and guidelines, arguing that individual countries can no longer operate as “closed systems.” Psychological and educational testing is an international business. Many test publishers are international organizations, selling their tests in a large number of countries. Many of the organizations using tests for selection and assessment at work are multinationals. In each country, test suppliers and test users are likely to find differences in practices related to access, user qualification, and legal constraints on test use.

On behalf of the International Test Commission and the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations a world-wide survey on the opinions of professional psychologists on testing practices was carried out. The main objective of this study was to collect data for a better understanding of the state of psychological testing worldwide. These data could guide the actions and measures taken by ITC, EFPA, and other stakeholders. A questionnaire was administered to 20,467 professional psychologists from 29 countries. Five scales were constructed relating to: concern over incorrect test use, regulations on tests and testing, internet and computerized testing, appreciation of tests, and knowledge and training relating to test use. Equivalence across countries was evaluated using the alignment method, four scales demonstrated acceptable levels of invariance. Multilevel analysis was used to determine how scores were related to age, gender, and specialization, as well as how scores varied between countries. Although the results show a high appreciation of tests in general, the appreciation of internet and computerized testing is much lower. These scales show low variability over countries, whereas differences between countries on the other reported scales are much greater. This implies the need for some overarching improvements as well as country-specific actions.

Introduction. This symposium builds on the theme of the conference - Improving Policy and Practice: Opportunities and Challenges in an International Context - to explore how psychometric science has and continues to respond to the policy context of a large international organisation with changing needs. The context for this session is the redesign of selection processes for EU institutions resulting in a substantial investment in psychometric tests ranging from cognitive ability to specific skills as well as competency-based situational tests (SJTs) administered in multiple languages to a total population exceeding 400,000 applicants. Objectives. The session will explore policy themes such as the need to satisfy a range of stakeholder perspectives including the end client, trade unions, national governments as well as applicants themselves; the need to ensure that the tests support employment decisions that are fair by gender, age and nationality of applicant; the need to ensure that the tests are robust to cheating and other threats to their integrity in terms of content and administration; the need to demonstrate value for money given that the testing programmes are a public investment; the need to educate stakeholders throughout the R&D and deployment cycles on the value of using tests to support valid and fair employment outcomes. Format. The format for this symposium will be a dialogue between the customer and the supplier of psychometric solutions. Each theme will be explored by the customer first describing the policy need and the consultant then describing how the testing solution met that need. Questions and audience perspectives on each theme will be invited before moving onto the next theme. A recognised international expert who has shaped ITC, international and national guidelines will then reflect on the learning from the symposium for how testing practice can be more responsive to real world policy needs.

Chapter 30 focuses on issues relating to norm-referenced measures, in particular the use of norms in international assessments. This chapter highlights some of the complex issues involved in norming scores. While the initial sections of the chapter review some general issues of norm construction and use, this is not a chapter on the mechanics of how to produce norms. Rather, it focuses on issues of when and how to use norms, what aggregations of samples to base them on, and how norm-referenced scores should be interpreted. In particular, it considers issues relating to the development and use of international norms. Test norms are often essential for stakeholders to understand the meaning of test scores by providing information about the standing of the test taker relative to other members of the population. Finally, the chapter notes that culturally related variance may reflect either measurement bias or effects of cultural style.

The present research investigated if an item response theory (IRT)‐scored forced‐choice personality questionnaire has the same normative data structures as a similar version that uses a 5‐point Likert scale instead. The study was conducted using a sample of 349 training delegates who completed both an IRT‐scored forced‐choice and a normative single‐stimulus version of the questionnaire. Results largely supported the scaling properties, measurement precision, and equivalence of the data structures of the two scoring methods.