The present study extended the "p"-optimality method to the multistage computerized adaptive test (MST) context in developing optimal item pools to support different MST panel designs under different test configurations. Using the Rasch model, simulated optimal item pools were generated with and without practical constraints of exposure…

While dichotomous item dominates the application of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), polytomous item and set-based item hold promises for being incorporated in CAT. However, how to assemble a CAT containing mixed item formats is challenging. This study investigated: (1) how the mixed CAT works compared with the dichotomous-item-based CAT; (2)…

For computerized adaptive tests (CATs) to work well, they must have an item pool with sufficient numbers of good quality items. Many researchers have pointed out that, in developing item pools for CATs, not only is the item pool size important but also the distribution of item parameters and practical considerations such as content distribution…

Because of the increased popularity of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), many admissions tests, as well as certification and licensure examinations, have been transformed from their paper-and-pencil versions to computerized adaptive versions. A major difference between paper-and-pencil tests and CAT from an examinee's point of view is that in…

The requirements for adaptive testing are reviewed, and the question of why implementation has taken so long is examined. The concept of a testing procedure that selects items to match the level of performance of an examinee during the administration of a test had to wait for the technology necessary to apply the idea. Current procedures were…

Describes tailored testing (in which a computer selects appropriate items from an item bank while an examinee is taking a test) and shows it to be superior to paper-and-pencil tests in such areas as reliability, security, and appropriateness of items. (IRT)

The feasibility of implementing self-paced computerized tailored testing evaluation methods in an undergraduate measurement and evaluation course, and possible differences in achievement levels under a paced versus self-paced testing schedule were investigated. A maximum likelihood tailored testing procedure based on the simple logistic model had…

Requirements for adaptive testing are reviewed, and the reasons implementation has taken so long are explored. The adaptive test is illustrated through the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale of L. M. Terman and M. A. Merrill (1960). Current adaptive testing is tied to the development of item response theory. (SLD)

A live tailored testing study was conducted to compare the results of using either the one-parameter logistic model or the three-parameter logistic model to measure the performance of college students on multiple choice vocabulary items. The results of the study showed the three-parameter tailored testing procedure to be superior to the…

The overall purpose of this research was to compare a maximum likelihood based tailored testing procedure to a Bayesian tailored testing procedure. The results indicated that both tailored testing procedures produced equally reliable ability estimates. Also an analysis of test length indicated that reasonable ability estimates could be obtained…

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss some of the problems presented by the use of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) in an instructional programs environment versus large scale testing applications, and to describe an actual implementation of CAT in an instructional programs setting. This particular application is in the…

This report summarizes the research findings of a four year contract investigating the applicability of item response theory and tailored testing to criterion-referenced measurement. Six major areas were studied on the project: (1) techniques for forming unidimensional item sets; (2) techniques for calibrating items; (3) item parameter linking…

A two-stage study was conducted to compare the ability estimates yielded by tailored testing procedures based on the one-parameter logistic (1PL) and three-parameter logistic (3PL) models. The first stage of the study employed real data, while the second stage employed simulated data. In the first stage, response data for 3,000 examinees were…

This paper has shown the advantages of tailored testing over traditional methods, the need for latent trait theory in the application of tailored testing, and some of the results available to show the quality of estimates obtained by tailored testing procedures. Since the tailored testing procedures overcome many of the problems with traditional…

This paper describes two procedures for making binary classification decisions using tailored testing: the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) and a Bayesian decision procedure. The first procedure described, the SPRT, was developed by Wald for quality control work. It has not been widely applied for testing applications because the…