Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing Need a Better Definition of “Test”

Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing determine their scope by defining a “test”. This definition is of practical consequence due to the significance of Standards for test evaluation, individual-level and policy decisions, and legal proceedings. I argue the current version lacks sufficient clarity. In light of the ongoing revision of the Standards, I consider the language of the current codex and its purpose, along with its predecessors, and propose a new definition of “test” that addresses the issues of the current definition – big and small – while being rooted in the contemporary approach to test validity. The new definition helps clarify how Standards regulate different kinds of psychological and educational testing, including the anticipated rise in AI-driven assessment.