Test Security

Common Forms of Security Breach

Individuals or organizations willing to breach test security may do so for any number of reasons, ranging from a single test taker's efforts to be hired for a job to an organized attempt to profit from the unauthorized release of high-stakes test material. Breaches of test security come in many forms; some common examples include the following:

• Unauthorized removal of test materials from a test site
• Posting of test answers over the Internet
• A test taker asking another person to take the test in his or her place
• Unauthorized copying of copyrighted test materials
• Hacking into data storage locations to gain access to test results

Steps should be taken to identify the potential threats to test security for any operational testing program.

Consequences of Security Compromise

Breaches in test security not only affect measurement integrity and reliability; they also diminish the potential financial and social benefits associated with testing. Several significant risks associated with a poorly secured testing program are elaborated as follows.

• Decreased validity and reliability. Security breaches in test content and scoring affect validity and reliability. Test scores affected by a breach of security may not reflect the target construct of the assessment; this impinges on the ability to draw inferences between other constructs and outcomes and restricts the ability to measure consistently over time.
• Ineffective selection procedures. Reduced validity in testing processes can have a significant impact on the effective selection of examinees into organizational settings; as validity declines, the number of selection errors increases.
• Decreased organizational performance. Ineffective selection procedures may further affect organizational performance outcomes and eliminate any advantage provided by the use of well-constructed assessments.
• Lowered confidence in psychological assessment. High-profile cases of cheating and pirating of copyrighted content may also have an impact on social perceptions of the overall fairness of specific testing applications or even of the testing industry in general.

Although these risks may differ in the level of importance for different test applications and user groups, they each represent significant concerns that can arise when test security is not maintained.

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