Validity Evidence of the Abstract and Spatial Reasoning Test

Abstract

Intelligence is a psychological dimension that predicts other important variables, such as educational, social, and economic performance. Despite being one of the most studied constructs in the field of psychology, few instruments in Brazil measure intelligence in more than one dimension and quickly. This study aims to construct the Abstract and Spatial Reasoning Test (TRAE) and to check for evidence of internal structure validity. The study sample consisted of 1069 secondary education students between 11 and 17 years of age. The discrimination (a) and difficulty (b) parameters of the items, estimated based on the IRT, presented mean coefficients close to 1.00 and .70, respectively. The information curve suggests that the test is more reliable to assess adolescents with theta coefficients between 1 and 2. Factor analyses indicated that the structure of the test permits estimating two first-order factors, as well as one general factor associated with fluid intelligence. In sum, the results indicated that the test has adequate psychometric properties.