Most large-scale testing programs facing computerized adaptive testing (CAT) must face the challenge of maintaining extensive content requirements, but content constraints in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) can compromise the precision and efficiency that could be achieved by a pure maximum information adaptive testing algorithm. This…

An algorithm for the assembly of multiple test forms is proposed in which the multiple-form problem is reduced to a series of computationally less intensive two-form problems. At each step one form is assembled to its true specifications; the other form is a dummy assembled only to maintain a balance between the quality of the current form and the…

This paper is the first of a series reporting on the development and validation of the Gay and Lesbian Oppressive Situations Inventory-Frequency and the Gay and Lesbian Oppressive Situations Inventory-Effect (GALOSI-F and GALOSI-E). To generate items, 8 focus groups of lesbians (n=13) and gay men (n=19) were conducted. An expert panel of three…

The purpose of this paper is to highlight some psychometric cautions that should be observed when seeking to develop short form versions of tests. Several points are made: (1) score reliability is impacted directly by the characteristics of the sample and testing conditions; (2) sampling error has a direct influence on reliability and factor…

This Digest provides educators with an overview of some important facets of cognitive science research and suggests implications for classroom assessment. Education researchers study the thinking of experts in various subject areas to understand the concepts and procedures that are the most important to teach and to help determine how to move…

This paper is an exploration of the conceptual issues that have arisen in the course of building a natural language generation (NLG) system for automatic test item generation. While natural language processing techniques are applicable to general verbal items, mathematics word problems are particularly tractable targets for natural language…

It has been shown that the fundamental assumptions associated with conventional one-factor measurement models are frequently violated in analyses of scores from a test composed of testlets. Eight different measurement models were conceptualized for this kind of situation, and the goodness of fit of each model was examined. Measurement models…

Information based item selection methods in computerized adaptive tests (CATs) tend to choose the item that provides maximum information at an examinee's estimated trait level. As a result, these methods can yield extremely skewed item exposure distributions in which items with high "a" values may be overexposed, while those with low…

This paper describes a four-process model for the operation of a generic assessment: Activity Selection, Presentation, Response Processing (Evidence Identification), and Summary Scoring (Evidence Accumulation). It discusses the relationships between the functions and responsibilities of these processes and the objects in the Instructional…

This collection of reproducible instruments is designed to help trainers evaluate the performance of their students and to evaluate their success of the training itself. Part 1 discusses assessments and their use. Part 2 contains a topic and assessment matrix and includes 50 assessments that measure various job-related attitudes, knowledge, and…

This study examines the structural characteristics of item classification for examination questions. Two different approaches are suggested to testing outcomes of studying history: that of the cognitive psychology and that of the philosophy of history. (MP)

Purpose of this paper is to prove a psychometrically sound measuring device within an acceptable, standardized, manipulable, paradigmatic methodology, for the study of interpersonal distance and its parameters. (Authors/CB)