Scaling is a sine qua non for experimental use of tests, and unscaled tests interpreted as scaled do harm¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoreticalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 1921 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Equal-scale-unit comparability is essential for most experimental purposes because progress along a scale is generally involved; in many situations no test at all does less harm than an unscaled test whose scores are interpreted as though scaled. → Franzen 1921
Evidence¶
Franzen 1921¶
Franzen, R., & Knight, F. B. (1921). Criteria to Employ in Choice of Tests. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0075312
q2 · i? · theoretical · r2
Analytical argument that equal units across the scale enable comparing progress, which underlies comparison, experiment, classification, diagnosis and quantitative definition. The authors add that teachers and administrators generally misinterpret unscaled scores as scaled; no empirical data reported.
"it is a sine qua non in the use of a test for most experimental purposes, since progress along a scale is generally involved. If we cannot compare progress, and we cannot unless a test is scaled, then we cannot gain much from comparison, experiment, classification, diagnosis or quantitative definition."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Reliability of a test is a prerequisite for valid comparison, experimentation, classification and diagnosis — related
- Yerkes-Bridges coefficients of intelligence of 1.20 or more are attained by very different percentages of children at successive ages (34.5% at ages 4-5 down to 0% at ages 16-17 and 18-on), so they do not represent the same degree of brightness at all ages. — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- In the Yerkes-Bridges alteration of the Binet Scale, equal point increments are assigned to digit-span steps whose growth intervals, as placed in the Binet Scale, are approximately 1, 3, 3, and 4 years. — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Arbitrarily assigned point values in the Yerkes-Bridges scale yield implausible growth-rate results, such as intellectual ability increasing more than fifty per cent during the fourth year and only approximately fifteen per cent during the seventh. — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Per cent solved is a variable, not a constant unit of difficulty, and is not comparable across groups — a broader claim this one bears on
- Percentile-difference scales are crude and embody a fundamental fallacy because percentile units are not equal intervals — a broader claim this one bears on
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
scaling-sine-qua-non-experimental-use |
title |
Scaling is a sine qua non for experimental use of tests, and unscaled tests interpreted as scaled do harm |
description |
Scaling is a sine qua non for experimental use of tests, and unscaled tests interpreted as scaled do harm |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
1921 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-24 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — franzen-1921 |
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