A power test measures candidates’ level of achievement (that is, how well they can achieve as opposed to how quickly they can answer questions). For example, a power test on the running track would be a sequence of successively higher hurdles, and the candidates would be expected to run and jump as high as they can. In contrast a speed test would be many hurdles set at the same height, and the candidates would be asked to jump as many hurdles as they can in a fixed time. In the power test, the report would say that the candidates were able to jump to a certain level. The second would measure the speed at which they ran the course. A power test measures how much mathematics candidates know, and a speed test measures how many questions per hour the candidates can answer correctly. In placement testing one wants power tests and not speed tests.
