Log files from computer-based assessment can help better understand respondents' behaviours and cognitive strategies. Analysis of timing information from Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) reveals large differences in the time participants take to answer assessment items, as well as large country differences…

There is much discussion about and many policies to address achievement gaps in education among groups of students. The focus here is on a different gap and it is argued that it also should be of concern. Speed gaps are differences in how quickly different groups of students answer the questions on academic assessments. To investigate some speed…

The rise of computer-based testing has brought with it the capability to measure more aspects of a test event than simply the answers selected or constructed by the test taker. One behavior that has drawn much research interest is the time test takers spend responding to individual multiple-choice items. In particular, very short response…

The growing presence of computer-based testing has brought with it the capability to routinely capture the time that test takers spend on individual test items. This, in turn, has led to an increased interest in potential applications of response time in measuring intellectual ability and achievement. Goldhammer (this issue) provides a very useful…

Computer-based tests (CBTs) often use random ordering of items in order to minimize item exposure and reduce the potential for answer copying. Little research has been done, however, to examine item position effects for these tests. In this study, different versions of a Rasch model and different response time models were examined and applied to…

This study examined the amount of time that different ability-level examinees spend on questions they answer correctly or incorrectly across different pretest item blocks presented on a fixed-length, time-restricted computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Results indicate that different ability-level examinees require different amounts of time to…

In current psychological research, the analysis of data from computer-based assessments or experiments is often confined to accuracy scores. Response times, although being an important source of additional information, are either neglected or analyzed separately. In this article, a new model is developed that allows the simultaneous analysis of…

A potential undesirable effect of multistage testing is differential speededness, which happens if some of the test takers run out of time because they receive subtests with items that are more time intensive than others. This article shows how a probabilistic response-time model can be used for estimating differences in time intensities and speed…

This paper investigates how monitoring the time spent on a question in a test of basic mathematics skills can provide insights into learning processes, the quality of test takers' knowledge, and cognitive demands and performance of test items that otherwise would remain undiscovered if the usual test outcome of accuracy only format…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pretest items on response time in an operational, fixed-length, time-limited computerized adaptive test (CAT). These pretest items are embedded within the CAT, but unlike the operational items, are not tailored to the examinee's ability level. If examinees with higher ability levels need less…

This study examined the time different ability level examinees spend taking a CAT on demanding items to these examinees. It was also found that high able examinees spend more time on the pretest items, which are not tailored to the examinees' ability level, than do lower ability examinees. Higher able examinees showed persistence with test…

When low-stakes assessments are administered, the degree to which examinees give their best effort is often unclear, complicating the validity and interpretation of the resulting test scores. This study introduces a new method, based on item response time, for measuring examinee test-taking effort on computer-based test items. This measure, termed…

The genetic relationship between intelligence and components of cognition remains controversial. Conflicting results may be a function of the limited number of methods used in experimental evaluation. The current study is the first to use CANTAB (The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery). This is a battery of validated computerised…

This study examines the effect of item response time across 30 items on ability estimates in a high stakes computer adaptive graduate admissions examination. Examinees were categorized according to 4 item response time patterns, and the categories are compared in terms of ability estimates. Significant differences between response time patterns…

Response accuracy and response speed provide separate measures of performance. Psychometricians have tended to focus on accuracy with the goal of characterizing examinees on the basis of their ability to respond correctly to items from a given content domain. With the advent of computerized testing, response times can now be recorded unobtrusively…