A common interpretation of achievement test results is that they provide measures of achievement that are much like other measures we commonly use for height, weight, or the cost of goods. In a limited sense, such interpretations are correct, but some nuances of these interpretations have important implications for the use of achievement test…

The current technology of computerized testing is discussed, and a few comments are made on how such technology might be used for assessing school-related skills as part of the National Assessment of Educational progress (NAEP). The critical feature of computerized assessment procedures is that the test items are presented in interactive fashion,…

Simulated tailored tests were used to investigate the relationships between characteristics of the item pool and the computer program, and the reliability and bias of the resulting ability estimates. The computer program was varied to provide for various step sizes (differences in difficulty between successive steps) and different acceptance…