Many organizations utilize some form of automation in the test assembly process; either fully algorithmic or heuristically constructed. However, one issue with heuristic models is that when the test assembly problem changes the entire model may need to be re-conceptualized and recoded. In contrast, mixed-integer programming (MIP) is a mathematical…

Many important human activities involve accomplishing goals without a script. There is no formula for true problem-solving. Heuristic, cognitive "rules of thumb" are the problem-solver's best guide. Learners should understand heuristic tools such as means-end analysis, working backwards, successive approximation, and external representation. Since…

This paper presents a new heuristic approach to interactive test assembly that is called the successive item replacement algorithm. This approach builds on the work of W. J. van der Linden (1987) and W. J. van der Linden and E. Boekkooi-Timminga (1989) in which methods of mathematical optimization are combined with item response theory to…

A method of automatically selecting items for inclusion in a test with constraints on item content and statistical properties was applied to real data. Tests constructed manually from the same data and constraints were compared to tests constructed automatically. Results show areas in which automated assembly can improve test construction. (SLD)

When the network-flow algorithm (NFA) and the average growth approximation algorithm (AGAA) were used for automated test assembly with American College Test and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery item banks, results indicate that reasonable error in item parameters is not harmful for test assembly using NFA or AGAA. (SLD)

A model for solving very large item selection problems is presented. The model builds on binary programming applied to test construction. A heuristic for selecting items that satisfy the constraints in the model is also presented, and various problems are solved using the model and heuristic. (SLD)

The reasons people most often give for the failures of U.S. schools involve poverty, racial inequality, and a host of social problems. This paper argues that even if all these conditions were remedied, the schools would not produce many more people with the ability to think than they do today. Teachers, who are usually able to think, do not know…

It is proposed that algorithms and heuristics are useful in improving professional problem-solving abilities when contextualized within the academic discipline. A basic algorithm applied to problem solving in undergraduate engineering education and a similar algorithm applicable to legal problems are used as examples. Problem complexity and…

After reviewing 50 educational software titles produced by 21 companies to assess how thinking and thinking skills were developed, the author found most had similar methodological drawbacks. Describes the algo-heuristic methodological position and outlines drawbacks of current software. (PEN)

Examines the deductive approach to error diagnosis for intelligent tutoring systems. Topics covered include the principles of the deductive approach to diagnosis; domain-specific heuristics to solve the problem of generalizing error patterns; and deductive diagnosis and the hypertext-based learning environment. (Contains 26 references.) (JLB)