Although item response models have grown in popularity in many areas of educational and psychological assessment, there are relatively few applications of these models in experimental psychopathology. In this article, we explore the use of item response models in the context of a computerized cognitive task designed to assess visual working memory…

An adaptive testing method is presented that controls the speededness of a test using predictions of the test takers' response times on the candidate items in the pool. Two different types of predictions are investigated: posterior predictions given the actual response times on the items already administered and posterior predictions that use the…

Derived conditional discrimination was evaluated in 2 men with mental retardation whose language was limited to gestural requests. In each conditional-discrimination task, sample stimuli were arbitrary visual forms and comparison stimuli were black squares presented in 2 of the 4 corners of a computer screen. Subjects learned to select 1 position…

Recently, several person-fit statistics have been proposed to detect nonfitting response patterns. This study is designed to generalize an approach followed by Klauer (1995) to an adaptive testing system using the two-parameter logistic model (2PL) as a null model. The approach developed by Klauer is described, and some difficulties in…

Investigated three models that permit restricted examinee control over revising previous answers in the context of adaptive testing, using simulation. Two models permitting item revisions worked well in preserving test fairness and accuracy, and one model may preserve some cognitive processing styles developed by examinees for a linear testing…

This study explores the potential for using a computer-based scoring procedure for the formulating-hypotheses (F-H) item. This item type presents a situation and asks the examinee to generate explanations for it. Each explanation is judged right or wrong, and the number of creditable explanations is summed to produce an item score. Scores were…

A program designed to administer questionnaires on IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers is described. The program prompts subjects to indicate responses by clicking on a graphic line segment or entering a numeric value. The program enhances accuracy in estimating moderating effects by overcoming transcriptional errors and scale coarseness.…

In this study, 5,257employees provided upward feedback ratings for 759 target managers who had the option of having their subordinates rate them using a traditional paper-and-pencil (opscan) response mode or using the company's intranet. Preliminary analyses showed mean online ratings were more favorable than were mean paper-and-pencil ratings (d…

Two experiments reproduced in a simulated computerized test-taking situation the effect of two of the main determinants in answering an item in a test: the difficulty of the item and the time available to answer it. A model is proposed for the time to respond or abandon an item and for the probability of abandoning it or answering it correctly. In…

Generative response modeling is an approach to test development and response modeling that calls for the creation of items in such a way that the parameters of the items on some response model can be anticipated through knowledge of the psychological processes and knowledge required to respond to the item. That is, the computer would not merely…

The quality of fit between the data and the measurement model is fundamental to any discussion of results. Fit has been the subject of inquiry since as early as the 1920s. Most early explorations concentrated on assessing global fit or subset fits on fixed length, traditional paper and pencil tests given as a single unit. The detection of aberrant…

Differences in test performance on time-limited tests may be due in part to differential response-time rates between subgroups, rather than real differences in the knowledge, skills, or developed abilities of interest. With computer-administered tests, response times are available and may be used to address this issue. This study investigates…

A new free-response item type for mathematics tests is described. The item type, referred to as the Student-Produced Response (SPR), was first introduced into the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 1993 and into the Scholastic Aptitude Test in 1994. Students solve a problem and record the answer by…

In recent years, a controversy has arisen about the advisability of allowing examinees to review their test items and possibly change answers. Arguments for and against allowing item review are discussed, and issues that a test designer should consider when designing a Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) are identified. Most CATs do not allow…

A method of qualitative data analysis that used computer software as a tool to help organize and analyze open-ended survey responses was examined. Reasons for using open-ended, as opposed to closed-ended questionnaire items, are discussed, as well as the construction of open-ended questions and response analysis. Because the method is based on…