Automatic item generation may supply many items instantly and efficiently to assessment and learning environments. Yet, the evaluation of item quality persists to be a bottleneck for deploying generated items in learning and assessment settings. In this study, we investigated the utility of using large-language models, specifically Llama 3-8B, for…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Board of Surgery (ABS) shifted from in-person to remote administrations of the oral certifying exam (CE). Although the overall exam architecture remains the same, there are a number of differences in administration and staffing costs, exam content, security concerns, and the tools used to give the…

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Sue Lottridge, Amy Burkhardt, and Dr. Michelle Boyer provide an overview of automated scoring. Automated scoring is the use of computer algorithms to score unconstrained open-ended test items by mimicking human scoring. The use of automated scoring is increasing in educational assessment programs because it allows…

Computer-based educational assessments often include items that involve drag-and-drop responses. There are different ways that drag-and-drop items can be laid out and different choices that test developers can make when designing these items. Currently, these decisions are based on experts' professional judgments and design constraints, rather…

This paper presents results of a score interpretation study for a computer adaptive mathematics assessment. The study purpose was to test the efficacy of item developers' alignment of items to Range Achievement-Level Descriptors (RALDs; Egan et al.) against the empirical achievement-level alignment of items to investigate the use of RALDs as the…

A multistage adaptive testing (MST) design was implemented for the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) starting in 2012 for about 40 countries and has been implemented for the 2018 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for more than 80 countries. Using examples from PISA and PIAAC,…

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…

Research indicates that the performance-gap between English Language Learners (ELLs) and their non-ELL peers is partly due to ELLs' difficulty in understanding assessment language. Accommodations have been shown to narrow this performance-gap, but many accommodations studies have not used a randomized design and are based on relatively small…

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,…

The computer assisted testing (CAT) program at Florida State University's Assessment Resource Center is described. Three measurement issues (test quality, confidence in mastery decisions, and maintenance of test validity) and two instructional design issues (quality of instructional objectives and extended feedback following testing) important for…

Three major pragmatic issues in computerized testing are addressed: (1) encouraging teacher use; (2) reporting of information; and (3) test construction. Reference is made to four related articles. Additional areas for research include reporting of test information; item bank standards; validity; and rules for stopping in computerized testing.…

The attractiveness of computer-based tests (CBTs) is due largely to their capability to expand the ways we conduct testing. A relatively unexplored application, however, is actively using the computer to reduce construct-irrelevant variance while a test is being administered. This investigation introduces the effort-monitoring CBT, in which the…

The author argues that scoring, reporting, and deriving final grades can be considerably assisted by using a computer. He also contends that the savings in time and the computer database formed will allow instructors to determine test quality and reflect on the quality of instruction. (BW)

The development, school district implementation, and initial validation of the Wicat Skills Assessment Test--a computerized testing system for state assessment objectives--are described. Testing with 10,000 students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 began in Texas in 1986-87 and 1987-88. Results support the feasibility for districtwide computerized…