Speededness refers to the extent to which time limits affect test takers' performance. With regard to the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), speededness is currently measured by calculating the proportion of test takers who do not reach each item on the test. These proportions typically increase slightly toward the end of the test, indicating that…

A method to measure speededness on tests is presented that reflects the tendency of examinees to guess rapidly on items as time expires. The method models response times with a two-state mixture model, as demonstrated with data from a computer-administered reasoning test taken by 7,218 examinees. (SLD)

When running out of time on a multiple-choice test, some examinees are likely to respond rapidly to the remaining unanswered items in an attempt to get some items right by chance. Because these responses will tend to be incorrect, the presence of "rapid-guessing behavior" could cause these items to appear to be more difficult than they…

When running out of time on a multiple-choice test such as the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), some test takers are likely to respond rapidly to the remaining unanswered items in an attempt to get some items right by chance. Because these responses will tend to be incorrect, the presence of rapid-guessing behavior could cause these items to…

Time limits on tests often prevent some examinees from finishing all of the items on the test; the extent of this effect has been called the "speededness" of the test. Traditional speededness indices focus on the number of unreached items. Other examinees in the same situation rapidly fill in answers in the hope of getting some of the…