A Procedure for Testing an American Test in an Indonesian Context

Abstract

The subject's perception of self in relation to test-item content affects test performance in ways that are not being measured directly by current testing procedures. In this study, 92 Indonesian students volunteered to evaluate each of the 552 items on the multi-scaled Lutheran Youth Research Inventory according to seven negative and one positive criteria. A review of the literature identified sensitive content areas likely to arouse negative feelings in self-disclosure. The Indonesian student responses are analysed to determine (1) the nature of the most objectionable items, and (2) the rates at which evaluation criteria were being used across all scales. Both procedure of 'testing the test' and the interpretation of Indonesian students' evaluations of test items are discussed as they relate to the accurate interpretation of test data from populations that are not testwise.