A psychometrician, according to the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), is a professional who is licensed to practice Psychometrics, a branch of psychology that “deals with the development, administration, and interpretation” of tests that measure a human being’s intelligence, aptitude, and personality variables.

While the agency that governs the country’s professional licensing procedures offers a straightforward description of the the job, and while breaking down the term psychometrician (psycho- and -metry) already offers a basic summary of its technical nature, there is a case to be made that the practice of psychometrics is still not as mainstream as that of psychology (practitioner: psychologist) and psychiatry (practitioner: psychiatrist)– two distinct but related professions.

For Chiqui Patio, the 22-year-old Kabalen topnotcher of the August 2024 National Psychometricians Examination, there is so much more to being a psychometrician than what the job’s technical description suggests, but at the core of all its layers and components is the intrinsic purpose to help.

“Maraming debate rarding sa function ng mga psychometricians… up until now, as far as I know, nilalawakan na ang magiging function namin [psychometrians] kasi hindi lang kami nali-limit sa mga bagay na yun,” Patio spoke of the multifaceted nature of psychometrics during an interview with GMA Regional TV News.

“We can do a lot more para makatulong,” said the San Fernando, Pampanga native.

Patio, who delivered a top-ranking exam score of 88.60% in the August 2024 board exam, mentioned some of the primary tasks that are part and parcel of being a psychometrician. 

“Kami po, really more on testing, helping psychologists to conduct interviews, mag-observe ng patients, help them na makakuha ng information regarding their cases,” explained Patio.

The San Fernando, Pampanga native also believes in the strong value of behavioral monitoring through tests and other measurable assessments– exactly the expertise of a psychometrician.

“We can also help when it comes to test development na nagmmeasure ng behaviour na ginagamit ng mga psychologist when they do assessments. Mostly, kami sa mga stats (statistics). From the word itself po na -metricians, more on stats,” she added.

A psychologist, on the other hand, is a licensed professional whose expertise lies in the overall assessment and study of human behavior.

According to PRC, the field of psychology is a wide-ranging discipline that aims to apply different scientific methods to “inquire into the biological, cognitive, affective, developmental, personality, social, cultural, and individual difference dimensions of human behavior.”

A psychologist, therefore, analyzes the relationship between brain function and behaviour, as well as the interaction of a human with their environment.