The statement 'You want high sensitivity in a test with high specificity' is true.

• A. False
• B. Not necessarily
• C. True
• D. Depends on prevalence

Answer: (C)

In diagnostic testing, sensitivity and specificity address different error types, and the aim is to maximize both to accurately identify disease status. You want high sensitivity so that most people who have the disease test positive, which minimizes false negatives. You also want high specificity so that those without the disease test negative, which minimizes false positives. When a test has high specificity, the need for high sensitivity remains important because you don’t want to miss true cases; a test that is highly specific but not sensitive would still fail to detect many people who are actually diseased. In practice, the best tests strive for strong performance in both areas, since prevalence affects predictive values but not the fundamental goal of accurate classification. Therefore, the statement is true.