In recent years, Automatic Item Generation (AIG) has increasingly shifted from theoretical research to operational implementation, a shift raising some unforeseen practical challenges. Specifically, generating high-quality answer choices presents several challenges such as ensuring that answer choices blend in nicely together for all possible item…

Standard setting is the process of identifying the point(s) on a scale that serve to differentiate between individuals of distinct proficiency levels. While standard setting is ultimately a policy decision, most of the process is carried out by subject matter experts who are tasked with reconciling item-level or examinee-level information (e.g.…

Designing a theory-based assessment with sound psychometric qualities to measure a higher-order cognitive construct is a highly desired yet challenging task for many practitioners. This paper proposes a framework for designing a theory-based assessment to measure a higher-order cognitive construct. This framework results in a modularized yet…

Assessment engineering is a new way to design and implement scalable, sustainable and ideally lower-cost solutions to the complexities of designing and developing tests. It represents a merger of sorts between cognitive task modeling and engineering design principles--a merger that requires some new thinking about the nature of score scales, item…

Many exam programs have begun to include innovative item types in their operational assessments. While innovative item types appear to have great promise for expanding measurement, there can also be genuine challenges to their successful implementation. In this paper we present a set of four activities that can be beneficially incorporated into…

English language learners with disabilities (ELLWD) face many challenges in their academic career. Learning a new language and coping with their disabilities create obstacles in their academic progress. Variables relegating accessibility of assessments for students with disabilities and ELL students may seriously hinder the academic performance of…