The construction of parallel tests from item-response-theory-based item banks is discussed. Two methods for sequentially selecting parallel tests and two methods for simultaneously constructing tests using 0-1 linear programing are compared. Advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are reviewed. (SLD)

An automated item selection procedure for selecting unidimensional scales of polytomous items from multidimensional data sets is developed for use in the context of the item response theory model of monotone homogeneity of R. J. Mokken. The procedure is based on the selection procedure proposed by Mokken (1971). (SLD)

In educational settings, achievement is one of the most significant factors for assessing the effectiveness of the educational institution, being the criterion used to evaluate the performance of individuals and institutions. The score obtained from an achievement test provides primarily two types of information: one is the degree to which the…

Item-pool management requires a balancing act between the input of new items into the pool and the output of tests assembled from it. A strategy for optimizing item-pool management is presented that is based on the idea of a periodic update of an optimal blueprint for the item pool to tune item production to test assembly. A simulation study with…

The self directed study of a 3D image of a biomolecule stresses the complex nature of the intra- and intermolecular interactions that come together to define its structure. This is made up of a series of in vitro experiments with a wild-type and mutants forms of human carbonic anhydrase II (hCAII) that examine the structure function relationship…

In an examination of the effects of timing of feedback on student learning, participants were randomly assigned to complete five introductory course tests using either control (Scantron form) or one of three feedback (end-of-test, 24-hr delay, immediate) procedures. A cumulative final examination with 50 new items and 10 items repeated from each…

Two different methods of obtaining three parameter logistic item response theory (IRT) pretest item parameter estimated for the Graduate Management Admissions Testing Program. The first method consisted of calibrating pretest and operational items simultaneously in a LOGIST run, that is a concurrent calibration design. The second approach entailed…

An integer programming approach to item pool design is presented that can be used to calculate an optimal blueprint for an item pool to support an existing testing program. The results are optimal in the sense that they minimize the efforts involved in actually producing the items as revealed by current item writing patterns. Also, an adaptation…

An adaptive test can usually match or exceed the measurement precision of conventional tests several times its length. This increased efficiency is not without costs, however, as the models underlying adaptive testing make strong assumptions about examinees and items. Most troublesome is the assumption that item pools are unidimensional. Truly…

Many applications of educational testing have a missing data aspect (MDA). This MDA is perhaps most pronounced in item banking, where each examinee responds to a different subtest of items from a large item pool and where both person and item parameter estimates are needed. The Rasch model is emphasized, and its non-parametric counterpart (the…

The distribution of a certain item response theory (IRT) based person fit index to identify systematic types of aberrance is discussed. For the Rasch model, it is proved that: (1) the joint distribution of subtest-residuals (the components of the index) is asymptotically multivariate normal; and (2) the distribution of the index is asymptotically…

The Office of Desegregation of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Public School District was given the responsibility for developing an instrument to evaluate the implementation of educational equity in the district pursuant to federal court desegregation mandates. Office of Desegregation personnel invited in Center for Academic Excellence staff of the…

This brief overview notes that an adaptive test differs from standardized achievement tests in that it does not consist of a certain set of items that are administered to a group of examinees. Instead, the test is individualized for each examinee. The items administered to the examinee are selected from a large pool of items on the basis of the…

Attention is drawn to the dynamics of criterion-referenced test (CRT) construction in this report. How CRT's are developed at the Instructional Objectives Exchange is described through a series of three steps. The procedures pertain to the construction of "off the shelf" as well as "customized" tests. Step one, isolating the…

Computer assisted test construction (CATC) is a new testing technique that seems to provide ease and flexibility for faculty members and students. The purpose of this paper was to verify that student test scores are not adversely affected by implementation of CATC. Two sections of a basic course in cataloging were tested for one semester. One…