This study explored a computerized adaptive test delivery algorithm for latent class identification based on the mixture Rasch model. Four item selection methods based on the Kullback-Leibler (KL) information were proposed and compared with the reversed and the adaptive KL information under simulated testing conditions. When item separation was…

Most computerized adaptive tests (CAT) have been studied under the framework of unidimensional item response theory. However, many psychological variables are multidimensional and might benefit from using a multidimensional approach to CAT. In addition, a number of psychological variables (e.g., quality of life, depression) can be conceptualized…

A computer adaptive test (CAT) is a delivery methodology that serves the larger goals of the assessment system in which it is embedded. A thorough analysis of the assessment system for which a CAT is being designed is critical to ensure that the delivery platform is appropriate and addresses all relevant complexities. As such, a CAT engine must be…

Development of adaptive tests used in K-12 settings requires the creation of stable measurement scales to measure the growth of individual students from one grade to the next, and to measure change in groups from one year to the next. Accountability systems like No Child Left Behind require stable measurement scales so that accountability has…

A two-stage adaptive test and a conventional peaked test were constructed and administered on a time-shared computer system to students in undergraduate psychology courses. (The two-stage adaptive test consisted of a routing test followed by one of a series of measurement tests.) Comparison of the score distributions showed that the two-stage test…

A tailored testing model employing the beta distribution, whose mean equals the difficulty of an item and whose variance is approximately equal to the sampling variance of the item difficulty, and employing conditional item difficulties, is proposed. (Author)

A method of estimating the operating characteristics of a new test item added to an established test without assuming a prior model has been proposed by the author. In this paper, the author extends this logic by proposing a different hypothesized distribution of the resulting estimate. The former method used a normal approximation; the present…

A review of four areas in which the computer has influenced the theory and practice of achievement testing: a) test scoring and item analysis, b) item sampling, c) item generation, and d) the sequencing of items resulting in various types of adaptive testing. Also, reference is made to the impact of computer assisted achievement testing upon the…

The applicability of item characteristic curve (ICC) theory to a multiple choice test item pool used to measure achievement is described. The rationale for attempting to use ICC theory in an achievement framework is summarized, and the adequacy for adaptive testing of a classroom achievement test item pool in a college biology class is studied.…

The success of objectives-based programs depends to a considerable extent on how effectively students and teachers assess mastery of objectives and make decisions for future instruction. While educators disagree on the usefulness of criterion-referenced tests the position taken in this monograph is that criterion-referenced tests are useful, and…

TAILOR is a computer program that uses the implied orders concept as the basis for computerized adaptive testing. The basic characteristics of TAILOR, which does not involve pretesting, are reviewed here and two studies of it are reported. One is a Monte Carlo simulation based on the four-parameter Birnbaum model and the other uses a matrix of…

Information provided by typical and improved conventional classroom achievement tests was compared with information provided by an adaptive test covering the same subject matter. Both tests were administered to over 700 college students in a general biology course. Using the same scoring method, adaptive testing was found to yield substantially…

The principal objectives of this conference were to exchange information, discuss theoretical and empirical developments, and to coordinate research efforts. The papers and their authors are: "The Graded Response Model of Latent Trait Theory and Tailored Testing" by Fumiko Samejima; (Incomplete Orders and Computerized Testing" by…