The interest in the application of large-scale adaptive testing for secure tests has served to focus attention on issues that arise when theoretical advances are made operational. Many such issues in the application of large-scale adaptive testing for secure tests have more to do with changes in testing conditions than with testing paradigms. One…

Explored, using simulations, the use of disclosed items on continuous testing conditions under a worse-case scenario that assumes that disclosed items are always answered correctly. Some item pool and test designs were identified in which the use of disclosed items produces effects on test scores that may be viewed as negligible. (Author/MAK)

In the context of paper and pencil testing, the frequency of the exposure of items is usually controlled through policies that regulate both the reuse of test forms and the frequency with which a candidate may retake the test. In the context of computerized adaptive testing, where item pools are large and expensive to produce and testing can be on…

A previously developed method of automatically selecting items for inclusion in a test subject to constraints on item content and statistical properties is applied to real data. Two tests are first assembled by experts in test construction who normally assemble such tests on a routine basis. Using the same pool of items and constraints articulated…

The success of applications of item response theory (IRT) depends upon the properties of the estimates of model parameters. Many theoretical properties of these estimates have been extensively studied. However, the properties of estimates obtained empirically from real data depend not only on the theoretical results, but also on the data and the…

Common strategies for dealing with flawed items in conventional testing, grounded in principles of fairness to examinees, are re-examined in the context of adaptive testing. The additional strategy of retesting from a pool cleansed of flawed items is found, through a Monte Carlo study, to bring about no practical improvement. (SLD)

Investigated three models that permit restricted examinee control over revising previous answers in the context of adaptive testing, using simulation. Two models permitting item revisions worked well in preserving test fairness and accuracy, and one model may preserve some cognitive processing styles developed by examinees for a linear testing…

This paper presents a new heuristic approach to interactive test assembly that is called the successive item replacement algorithm. This approach builds on the work of W. J. van der Linden (1987) and W. J. van der Linden and E. Boekkooi-Timminga (1989) in which methods of mathematical optimization are combined with item response theory to…

The relationship between examinee ability and the accuracy of maximum likelihood item parameter estimation is explored in terms of the expected (Fisher) information. Information functions are used to find the optimum ability levels and maximum contributions to information for estimating item parameters in three commonly used logistic item response…

A method of automatically selecting items for inclusion in a test with constraints on item content and statistical properties was applied to real data. Tests constructed manually from the same data and constraints were compared to tests constructed automatically. Results show areas in which automated assembly can improve test construction. (SLD)

Recent advances in psychometrics and computer technology encourage the development of model-based methods of individualized testing on a microcomputer, where each examinee receives short tests and where the number of pretest items that can be administered is severely restricted. On-line (i.e., data is collected on operational equipment) methods…

In the periodic testing environment associated with conventional paper-and-pencil tests, the frequency with which items are seen by test-takers is tightly controlled in advance of testing by policies that regulate both the reuse of test forms and the frequency with which candidates may take the test. In the continuous testing environment…

A model for solving very large item selection problems is presented. The model builds on binary programming applied to test construction. A heuristic for selecting items that satisfy the constraints in the model is also presented, and various problems are solved using the model and heuristic. (SLD)

A method is presented for incorporating a large number of constraints on adaptive item selection in the construction of computerized adaptive tests. The method, which emulates practices of expert test specialists, is illustrated for verbal and quantitative measures. Its foundation is application of a weighted deviations model and algorithm. (SLD)

As adaptive testing moves toward operational implementation in large scale testing programs, where it is important that adaptive tests be as parallel as possible to existing linear tests, a number of practical issues arise. This paper concerns three such issues. First, optimum item pool size is difficult to determine in advance of pool…