When individuals are given tests that are too hard or too easy, the resulting scores are likely to be poor estimates of their performance. To get valid and accurate test scores that provide meaningful results, one should use functional-level testing (FLT). FLT is the practice of administering to an individual a version of a test with a difficulty…

Two-stage and multistage test designs provide a way of roughly adapting item difficulty to test-taker ability. All test takers take a parallel stage-one test, and, based on their scores, they are routed to tests of different difficulty levels in subsequent stages. These designs provide some of the benefits of standard computerized adaptive testing…

The effect of dimensionality on an adaptive test's ability estimation was examined. Two-dimensional data sets, which differed from one another in the interdimensional ability association, the correlation among the difficulty parameters, and whether the item discriminations were or were not confounded with item difficulty, were generated for 1,600…

Applications of item response theory to practical testing problems including equating, differential item functioning, and computerized adaptive testing, require that item parameter estimates be placed onto a common metric. In this study, three methods for developing a common metric under item response theory are compared: (1) linking separate…

A new testing strategy that provides protection against the problem of having examinees in adaptive testing choose difficulty levels that are not matched to their proficiency levels was introduced and evaluated. The method, termed restricted self-adapted testing (RSAT), still provides examinees with a degree of control over the difficulty levels…

Recent experience with the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) has raised a number of concerns about its practical applications. The concerns are principally involved with the concept of having the computer construct the test from a precalibrated item pool, and substituting statistical characteristics for the test developer's skills. Problems with…

A pilot study on the development and administration of a test using a spatial reasoning problem, the 15-puzzle, is described. The test utilizes on-line capabilities of a real-time computer to record an examinee's progress on each problem through a sequence of problem-solving "moves", and to collect additional on-line data that might be…