Educational assessments often require uniform test forms, for which each test form has equivalent measurement accuracy but with a different set of items. For uniform test assembly, an important issue is the increase of the number of assembled uniform tests. Although many automatic uniform test assembly methods exist, the maximum clique algorithm…

So far, modeling approaches for not-reached items have considered one single underlying process. However, missing values at the end of a test can occur for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, examinees may not reach the end of a test due to time limits and lack of working speed. On the other hand, examinees may not attempt all items and quit…

Administrative problems such as computer malfunction and power outage occasionally lead to missing item scores and hence to incomplete data on mastery tests such as the AP and U.S. Medical Licensing examinations. Investigators are often interested in estimating the probabilities of passing of the examinees with incomplete data on mastery tests.…

About 45 R packages to analyze data using item response theory (IRT) have been developed over the last decade. This article introduces these 45 R packages with their descriptions and features. It also describes possible advanced IRT models using R packages, as well as dichotomous and polytomous IRT models, and R packages that contain applications…

International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) transitioned from paper-based assessments to computer-based assessments (CBAs) facilitating the use of new item types and more effective data collection tools. This allows implementation of more complex test designs and to collect process and response time (RT) data. These new data types can be used to…

As perfectly summarised by Ida Lawrence, "Testing is growing by leaps and bounds across the world. There is a realization that a nation's well-being depends crucially on the educational achievement of its population. Valid tests are an essential tool to evaluate a nation's educational standing and to implement efficacious educational reforms.…

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Jue Wang and Dr. George Engelhard Jr. describe the Rasch measurement framework for the construction and evaluation of new measures and scales. From a theoretical perspective, they discuss the historical and philosophical perspectives on measurement with a focus on Rasch's concept of specific objectivity and…

U.S. Supreme Court justices and other federal judges are, effectively, appointed for life, with no built-in check on their cognitive functioning as they approach old age. There is about a century of research on aging and intelligence that shows the vulnerability of processing speed, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory to…

This article aims to provide a theoretical framework for computerized adaptive tests (CAT) and item response theory models for polytomous items. Besides that, it aims to introduce the simulation and live CAT software to the related researchers. Computerized adaptive test algorithm, assumptions of item response theory models, nominal response…

This article reports on the development of an online dynamic approach for assessing and improving students' reading comprehension of science texts--the dynamic assessment for reading comprehension of science text (DARCST). The DARCST blended assessment and response-specific instruction into a holistic learning task for grades 5 and 6 students. The…

David Thissen, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Quantitative Program at the University of North Carolina, has consulted and served on technical advisory committees for assessment programs that use item response theory (IRT) over the past couple decades. He has come to the conclusion that there are usually two purposes…

As part of the Race to the Top initiative, the United States Department of Education made nearly 1 billion dollars available in State Educational Technology grants with the goal of ramping up school technology. One result of this effort is that states, districts, and schools across the country are using computerized assessments to measure their…

Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) enables efficient and flexible measurement of latent constructs. The majority of educational and cognitive measurement constructs are based on dichotomous item response theory (IRT) models. An integral part of developing various components of a CAT system is conducting simulations using both known and empirical…

Item response theory parameters have to be estimated, and because of the estimation process, they do have uncertainty in them. In most large-scale testing programs, the parameters are stored in item banks, and automated test assembly algorithms are applied to assemble operational test forms. These algorithms treat item parameters as fixed values,…

Distance education is a discipline that offers solutions to some important education problems. Distance education, contribute to the solution to the problems such as; inequality of opportunities, lifelong education, the implementation of a series of individual and social goals that can contribute to and benefit from educational technology and…