At Insight Assessment we take the measurement of reasoning skills and mindset very seriously.

In each case, items/scales are piloted in target samples and validated in replicated studies (undergraduate students, graduate students, employees and trainees, military officers and enlisted personnel, government employees, children at every K-12 grade level, health professionals across the spectrum of health care disciplines, law students, Business graduate students, technical and community college students, and the general population) to assure the performance of the assessments in the intended population. Likert style items that measure mindset are grouped in scales with demonstrated validity and reliability and are tested against social desirability bias and cultural bias. Multiple choice items that measure reasoning skills are the result of an item pool tested over a 40-year period to define item difficulty and scale membership. Built on a growing science of the measurement of human decision-making, each instrument has been psychometrically evaluated in collaboration with researchers, educators, trainers, and working professionals, to assure cultural and language competence in the intended test taker group.  Validity and reliability coefficients meet the highest standards for all instruments.

Measurement science provides clear evidence that higher-order cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, can be measured validly and reliably by well-crafted multiple choice items. Insight Assessment’s researcher led instrument development program, which began in the 1970s, has demonstrated instrument performance. Our customers rely on this quality in hundreds of independent research studies carried out by researchers and educators throughout the world.

The lead researchers and test developers gratefully acknowledge our many international colleagues who have worked to establish the validity and reliability of the translated instruments, our many health care, business, law, and military professionals who advised on the production of discipline tailored measures and the INSIGHT professional line, and the additional validation work in reading comprehension done by Dr. Joanne Carter Wells of California State University Fullerton, and the psychometric consultation and focus on numeracy contributed by Dr. Carol Gittens of Santa Clara University.