Reviews some results on optimal design of tests with items of dichotomous and polytomous response formats and offers rules and guidelines for optimal test assembly. Discusses the problem of optimal test design for two optimality criteria. (Author/SLD)

Some alternative criteria for item selection in adaptive testing are proposed that take into account uncertainty in the ability estimates. A simulation study shows that the likelihood weighted information criterion is a good alternative to the maximum information criterion. Another good alternative uses a Bayesian expected a posteriori estimator.…

In this study some alternative item selection criteria for adaptive testing are proposed. These criteria take into account the uncertainty of the ability estimates. A general weighted information criterion is suggested of which the usual maximum information criterion and the suggested alternative criteria are special cases. A simulation study was…