Measurement, Theories of

Yuankun Yao

Measurement is the process of estimating psychometric properties of variables or constructs. There are a number of measurement theories that represent different assumptions about and approaches to the estimation process, including the classical test theory (CTT), the generalizability theory (G-theory), the congeneric theory, and the item response theory (IRT). The most influential theory in psychometric measurement is the CTT. The theory relies on the test score to measure a person's ability or other psychometric properties. Central to the theory is the concept of reliability, first used by Charles Spearman in 1904. According to Spearman, the observed score of a variable or construct consists of two separate components: the true score and the error of measurement. The true score represents the perfect measurement of a construct, for instance, the true ability of a person to accomplish a task. In theory, if a person takes the same test an infinite number of ...

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