Classical test theory is a body of psychometric theory, sometimes called true score theory, that predicts outcomes of testing such as how difficult a given item is, how precise a test's estimates are, and how able a given test taker is. It holds that a person's observed score on a test is the sum of a true, error-free score and an error score, and its central aim is understanding and improving the reliability of tests. As the older of psychometrics' two dominant frameworks, it is often described as the classical counterpart to the newer, item-level item response theory, sometimes itself called modern test theory.
Facts
Core ClaimClassical test theory (CTT) is a body of related psychometric theory that predicts outcomes of psychological testing, such as the difficulty of items or the ability of test-takers, treating an observed test score as the sum of a true score and an error score. 1 Connections
Associated With
Each entity's own entity-description names the other as psychometrics' complementary dominant paradigm (modern vs classical test theory).
Sources
1. Classical test theory (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead paragraph
Classical test theory (CTT) is a body of related psychometric theory that predicts outcomes of psychological testing such as the difficulty of items, precision of estimates, or the ability of test-takers.
History section, on Charles Spearman
In 1904, Charles Spearman was responsible for figuring out how to correct a correlation coefficient for attenuation due to measurement error and how to obtain the index of reliability needed in making the correction. Spearman's finding is thought to be the beginning of classical test theory by some (Traub 1997).
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