An operational multistage adaptive test (MST) requires the development of a large item bank and the effort to continuously replenish the item bank due to concerns about test security and validity over the long term. New items should be pretested and linked to the item bank before being used operationally. The linking item volume fluctuations in…

Careless responding is a pervasive concern in research using affective surveys. Although researchers have considered various methods for identifying careless responses, studies are limited that consider the utility of these methods in the context of computer adaptive testing (CAT) for affective scales. Using a simulation study informed by recent…

Test-taking experience is a consequence of the interaction between students and assessment properties. We define a new notion, rapid-pacing behavior, to reflect two types of test-taking experience -- disengagement and speededness. To identify rapid-pacing behavior, we extend existing methods to develop response-time thresholds for individual items…

This study estimated male-female and Black-White achievement gaps without accounting for low test motivation, then compared those estimates to ones that used several approaches to addressing rapid guessing. Researchers investigated two issues: (1) The differences in rates of rapid guessing across subgroups and (2) How much achievement gap…

This article describes a computerized adaptive test (CAT) based on the uniform item exposure multi-form structure (uMFS). The uMFS is a specialization of the multi-form structure (MFS) idea described by Armstrong, Jones, Berliner, and Pashley (1998). In an MFS CAT, the examinee first responds to a small fixed block of items. The items comprising…

In this study we compared five item selection procedures using three ability estimation methods in the context of a mixed-format adaptive test based on the generalized partial credit model. The item selection procedures used were maximum posterior weighted information, maximum expected information, maximum posterior weighted Kullback-Leibler…

This article used several data sets from a large-scale state testing program to examine the feasibility of combining general and modified assessment items in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for different groups of students. Results suggested that several of the assumptions made when employing this type of mixed-item CAT may not be met for…

Several classical approaches and alternative approaches to item selection for computerized adaptive testing (CAT) are reviewed and compared. The study also describes procedures for constrained CAT that may be added to classical item selection approaches to allow them to be used for applied testing. (TJH)

Performed a simulation study to demonstrate the dramatic impact of capitalization on estimation errors on ability estimation in adaptive testing. Discusses four different strategies to minimize the likelihood of capitalization in computerized adaptive testing. (SLD)

Adaptive tests offer the advantages of reduced test length and increased accuracy in ability estimation. However, adaptive tests require large pools of precalibrated items. This study looks at the development of an item pool for 1 type of adaptive administration: the computer-adaptive sequential test. An important issue is the sample size required…

Various aspects of the computerized adaptive testing (CAT) procedure for partial credit scoring were manipulated, focusing on the effects of the manipulations on operational characteristics of the CAT. The effects of item-pool size, item-pool information, and stepsizes used along the trait continuum were assessed. (TJH)

This study applied the maximum expected information (MEI) and the maximum posterior-weighted information (MPI) approaches of computer adaptive testing item selection to the case of a test using polytomous items following the partial credit model. The MEI and MPI approaches are described. A simulation study compared the efficiency of ability…

Conducted a simulation study of differential item functioning (DIF) to compare the power and Type I error rates for two conditions: using an examinee's ability estimate as the conditioning variable with the CATSIB program and either using the regression correction from CATSIB or not. Discusses implications of findings for DIF detection. (SLD)

This simulation investigated two procedures that reduce differences between paper-and-pencil testing and computerized adaptive testing (CAT) by making CAT content sensitive. Results indicate that the price in terms of additional test items of using constrained CAT for content balancing is much smaller than that of using testlets. (SLD)

The hypothesis that previously found effects of self-adapted testing (SAT) are attributable to examinees' having an increased perception of control over a stressful testing situation was studied with 377 college students who took computerized adaptive tests or SAT. The strongest preference for SAT was seen in individuals with the highest…