In the current study, two pools of 250 essays, all written as a response to the same prompt, were rated by two groups of raters (14 or 15 raters per group), thereby providing an approximation to the essay's true score. An automated essay scoring (AES) system was trained on the datasets and then scored the essays using a cross-validation scheme. By…

This study sought to provide a framework for evaluating machine score-ability of items using a new score-ability rating scale, and to determine the extent to which ratings were predictive of observed automated scoring performance. The study listed and described a set of factors that are thought to influence machine score-ability; these factors…

Item development is a time- and resource-intensive process. Automatic item generation integrates cognitive modeling with computer technology to systematically generate test items. To date, however, items generated using cognitive modeling procedures have received limited use in operational testing situations. As a result, the psychometric…

Complex Problem Solving (CPS) is seen as a cross-curricular 21st century skill that has attracted interest in large-scale-assessments. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012, CPS was assessed all over the world to gain information on students' skills to acquire and apply knowledge while dealing with nontransparent…

The development of information technologies has transformed the environment in which young people access, create, and share information. Many countries, having recognized the imperative of digital technology, acknowledge the need to educate young people in the use of these technologies so as to underpin economic and social benefits. This article…

Previous research has shown that rapid-guessing behavior can degrade the validity of test scores from low-stakes proficiency tests. This study examined, using hierarchical generalized linear modeling, examinee and item characteristics for predicting rapid-guessing behavior. Several item characteristics were found significant; items with more text…

The objective of the present investigation was to examine the comparability of writing prompts for different gender groups in the context of the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language[TM] (TOEFL[R]-CBT). A total of 87 prompts administered from July 1998 through March 2000 were analyzed. An extended version of logistic regression for…