A test battery with two different levels of adaptation is presented: a within-subtest level for the selection of the items in the subtests and a between-subtest level to move from one subtest to the next. The battery runs on a two-level model consisting of a regular response model for each of the subtests extended with a second level for the joint…

An adaptive weight estimation approach is proposed to provide robust latent ability estimation in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) with response revision. This approach assigns different weights to each distinct response to the same item when response revision is allowed in CAT. Two types of weight estimation procedures, nonfunctional and…

We propose a new item response theory growth model with item-specific learning parameters, or ISLP, and two variations of this model. In the ISLP model, either items or blocks of items have their own learning parameters. This model may be used to improve the efficiency of learning in a formative assessment. We show ways that the ISLP model's…

With the widespread use of computers in modern assessment, online calibration has become increasingly popular as a way of replenishing an item pool. The present study discusses online calibration strategies for a joint model of responses and response times. The study proposes likelihood inference methods for item paramter estimation and evaluates…

The Bayesian way of accounting for the effects of error in the ability and item parameters in adaptive testing is through the joint posterior distribution of all parameters. An optimized Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for adaptive testing is presented, which samples this distribution in real time to score the examinee's ability and optimally…

In large-scale educational assessment data consistent with a simple-structure multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) model, where every item measures only one latent variable, separate unidimensional item response theory (UIRT) models for each latent variable are often calibrated for practical reasons. While this approach can be valid for…

Meijer and van Krimpen-Stoop noted that the number of person-fit statistics (PFSs) that have been designed for computerized adaptive tests (CATs) is relatively modest. This article partially addresses that concern by suggesting three new PFSs for CATs. The statistics are based on tests for a change point and can be used to detect an abrupt change…

Calibration of new items online has been an important topic in item replenishment for multidimensional computerized adaptive testing (MCAT). Several online calibration methods have been proposed for MCAT, such as multidimensional "one expectation-maximization (EM) cycle" (M-OEM) and multidimensional "multiple EM cycles"…

The sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) is a common method for terminating item response theory (IRT)-based adaptive classification tests. To decide whether a classification test should stop, the SPRT compares a simple log-likelihood ratio, based on the classification bound separating two categories, to prespecified critical values. As has…

David Thissen, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Quantitative Program at the University of North Carolina, has consulted and served on technical advisory committees for assessment programs that use item response theory (IRT) over the past couple decades. He has come to the conclusion that there are usually two purposes…

Many latent traits in social sciences display a hierarchical structure, such as intelligence, cognitive ability, or personality. Usually a second-order factor is linearly related to a group of first-order factors (also called domain abilities in cognitive ability measures), and the first-order factors directly govern the actual item responses.…

Traditional methods for item selection in computerized adaptive testing only focus on item information without taking into consideration the time required to answer an item. As a result, some examinees may receive a set of items that take a very long time to finish, and information is not accrued as efficiently as possible. The authors propose two…

Sequential mastery testing (SMT) has been researched as an efficient alternative to paper-and-pencil testing for pass/fail examinations. One popular method for determining when to cease examination in SMT is the truncated sequential probability ratio test (TSPRT). This article introduces the application of stochastic curtailment in SMT to shorten…

Response times on items can be used to improve item selection in adaptive testing provided that a probabilistic model for their distribution is available. In this research, the author used a hierarchical modeling framework with separate first-level models for the responses and response times and a second-level model for the distribution of the…

The three-parameter logistic (3-PL) model is described and a derivation of the 3-PL observed information function is presented for a single binary response from one examinee with known item parameters. Formulas are presented for the probability of negative information and for the expected information (always nonnegative). (SLD)