This case study applied the "weak theory" of Automatic Item Generation (AIG) to generate isomorphic item instances (i.e., unique but psychometrically equivalent items) for a large-scale assessment. Three representative instances were selected from each item template (i.e., model) and pilot-tested. In addition, a new analytical framework,…

Testing organization needs large numbers of high-quality items due to the proliferation of alternative test administration methods and modern test designs. But the current demand for items far exceeds the supply. Test items, as they are currently written, evoke a process that is both time-consuming and expensive because each item is written,…

Test scores matter these days. Test-takers want to understand how they performed, and test score reports, particularly those for individual examinees, are the vehicles by which most people get the bulk of this information. Historically, score reports have not always met the examinees' information or usability needs, but this is clearly changing…

Over the past few decades, those who take tests in the United States have exhibited increasing diversity with respect to native language. Standard psychometric procedures for ensuring item and test fairness that have existed for some time were developed when test-taking groups were predominantly native English speakers. A better understanding of…

This paper illustrates that the psychometric properties of scores and scales that are used with mixed-format educational tests can impact the use and interpretation of the scores that are reported to examinees. Psychometric properties that include reliability and conditional standard errors of measurement are considered in this paper. The focus is…

A look at real data shows that Reckase's psychometric theory for standard setting is not applicable to bookmark and that his simulations cannot explain actual differences between methods. It is suggested that exclusively test-centered, criterion-referenced approaches are too idealized and that a psychophysics paradigm and a theory of group…