The impact of computerized adaptive test (CAT) administration formats on student performance was studied with 645 medical technology students who also took a paper-and-pencil test. Analysis of covariance indicates no significant interactions among test administration formats and provides evidence for adjusting CAT test to more familiar modalities.…

The effects of reviewing items and altering responses on the efficiency of computerized adaptive tests and resultant ability estimates of the examinees were explored for medical technology students (220 students could and 492 students could not review and alter their responses). Data do not support disallowing review. (SLD)

Presents a conceptual framework of educational diagnosis based on formative evaluation. Describes a computer-based diagnostic system that maximizes the coherence and effectiveness of obtained information by generating a structural diagnosis of the nature of student errors and a causal diagnosis related to teaching methods. Contains 64 references.…

The utility of item response theory (IRT) models in computerized adaptive tests is considered. Measurement questions that have been answered using IRT, and those that might be overlooked because of IRT, are reviewed. Areas in which fuller use of IRT could improve adaptive testing practices are identified. (SLD)

The emergence of computerized adaptive tests (CATs), which customize assessment for each individual, may mean more efficient testing. A CAT version of the Graduate Record Examination is in production. Critics have many questions about the technique, which is based on item response theory. (MSE)

Whether gender and administration mode (computer versus pencil and paper) influenced mean scores on four noncognitive psychological instruments was studied with 874 undergraduates. Results show no statistically significant interaction between gender and administration mode, although statistically significant main effects were found for both gender…

Articles in this special section consider (1) flow in test taking (Craig Deville); (2) testwiseness (Thomas O'Neill); (3) test length (Benjamin Wright); (4) cross-language test equating (Richard W. Woodcock and Ana Munoz-Sandoval); (5) computer-assisted testing and testwiseness (Richard Gershon and Betty Bergstrom); and (6) Web-enhanced testing…

Two new methods have been proposed to determine unexpected sum scores on sub-tests (testlets) both for paper-and-pencil tests and computer adaptive tests. A method based on a conservative bound using the hypergeometric distribution, denoted p, was compared with a method where the probability for each score combination was calculated using a…

Psychological assessment, a subspecialty of psychology has served as one of the earliest proving grounds of automated technology. This Special Series highlights some of the advances in computerized psychological assessment methods and discusses some of the lingering issues and contemporary problems with automated psychological assessment…

Assessed the attitudes of 59 maternity patients toward the use of a computer for psychological testing. Results showed patients were almost unanimous in finding the computer acceptable and easy to use, and most would be willing to use the computer again. (JAC)

This paper presents an approach to item pool design that has the potential to improve on the quality of current item pools in educational and psychological testing and thus to increase both measurement precision and validity. The approach consists of the application of mathematical programming techniques to calculate optimal blueprints for item…

Several methods have been developed for use on constrained adaptive testing. Item pool partitioning, multistage testing, and testlet-based adaptive testing are methods that perform well for specific cases of adaptive testing. The weighted deviation model and the Shadow Test approach can be more generally applied. These methods are based on…

Preventing items in adaptive testing from being over- or underexposed is one of the main problems in computerized adaptive testing. Though the problem of overexposed items can be solved using a probabilistic item-exposure control method, such methods are unable to deal with the problem of underexposed items. Using a system of rotating item pools,…

This report contains a review of procedures for computerized assembly of linear, sequential, and adaptive tests. The common approach to these test assembly problems is to view them as instances of constrained combinatorial optimization. For each testing format, several potentially useful objective functions and types of constraints are discussed.…

To satisfy the security requirements of computerized adaptive tests (CATs), efforts have been made to control the exposure rates of optimal items directly by incorporating statistical methods into the item selection procedure. Since differences are likely to occur between the exposure control parameter derivation stage and the operational CAT…