Physical Therapy Assistant Practice Exam

Which reliability type pertains to the consistency of scores recorded by two or more individuals?

1. Internal consistency reliability

2. Intertester reliability

3. Intratester reliability

4. Reliability of parallel forms

The correct answer is: Intertester reliability

The type of reliability that pertains to the consistency of scores recorded by two or more individuals is known as intertester reliability. This concept is crucial in any assessment where multiple examiners or therapists are involved in measuring the same outcomes. When intertester reliability is high, it indicates that different assessors are obtaining similar results when evaluating the same subject or condition, thereby suggesting that the measurement tool or method being used is dependable and produces stable results across different users. In the context of clinical assessments where multiple therapists or evaluators may interact with the same patient, understanding intertester reliability ensures that outcomes are not overly influenced by individual evaluator bias or inconsistency in the application of tests. This type of reliability is essential for maintaining the integrity of data collected in physical therapy settings. While internal consistency reliability refers to the consistency of results across items within a single test, and intratester reliability concerns the consistency of scores from the same tester across multiple trials, neither directly addresses the scenario of multiple individuals collecting and reporting data. Reliability of parallel forms refers to the consistency of scores between two different forms of a test, which again does not focus on the evaluators themselves. Thus, intertester reliability best fits the question's context regarding the agreement among different assessors.