This study introduced dynamic multistage testing (dy-MST) as an improvement to existing adaptive testing methods. dy-MST combines the advantages of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and computerized adaptive multistage testing (ca-MST) to create a highly efficient and regulated adaptive testing method. In the test construction phase, multistage…

This article outlines the development and validation of the Computer-Delivered Test (CDT) Acceptance Questionnaire (CTAQ). The CTAQ was designed to be a practical measure of CDT acceptance of Singapore secondary and high school students (Grades 7-12) toward taking tests within an e-assessment system. The stages of test (questionnaire item)…

Testing organization needs large numbers of high-quality items due to the proliferation of alternative test administration methods and modern test designs. But the current demand for items far exceeds the supply. Test items, as they are currently written, evoke a process that is both time-consuming and expensive because each item is written,…

Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) have increasingly been incorporated into state education policies over the past 5 years, with much of this interest stemming from Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) awards, Enhanced Assessment Grants, and nationwide efforts to develop common K-12 state learning standards. Drawing on…

Assembling equivalent test forms with minimal test overlap across forms is important in ensuring test security. Chen and Lei (2009) suggested a exposure control technique to control test overlap-ordered item pooling on the fly based on the essence that test overlap rate--ordered item pooling for the first t examinees is a function of test overlap…

A computer adaptive test (CAT) is a delivery methodology that serves the larger goals of the assessment system in which it is embedded. A thorough analysis of the assessment system for which a CAT is being designed is critical to ensure that the delivery platform is appropriate and addresses all relevant complexities. As such, a CAT engine must be…

In cognitive diagnosis a Q-matrix (Tatsuoka, 1983, 1990), which is an incidence matrix that defines the relationships between test items and constructs of interest, has great impact on the nature of performance feedback that can be provided to score users. The purpose of the present study was to identify meaningful skill coding categories that…

Many challenges exist for high-stakes testing programs offering continuous computerized administration. The automated assembly of test questions to exactly meet content and other requirements, provide uniformity, and control item exposure can be modeled and solved by mixed-integer programming (MIP) methods. A case study of the computerized…

Psychometricians continue to introduce new approaches to setting cut scores for educational assessments in an attempt to improve on current methods. In this paper we describe the Item-Descriptor (ID) Matching method, a method based on IRT item mapping. In ID Matching, test content area experts match items (i.e., their judgments about the knowledge…

Three different applications of the testlet concept are presented, and the psychometric models most suitable for each application are described. Difficulties that testlets can help overcome include (1) context effects; (2) item ordering; and (3) content balancing. Implications for test construction are discussed. (SLD)