When examinees are allowed to review responses on an adaptive test, can they "cheat" the adaptive algorithm in order to take an easier test and improve their performance? Theoretically, deliberately answering items incorrectly will lower the examinee ability estimate and easy test items will be administered. If review is then allowed,…

This paper explains the multifacet technology for analyzing performance examinations and the fair average method of setting criterion standards. The multidimensional nature of performance examinations requires that multiple and often different facets elements of a candidate's examination form be accounted for in the analysis. After this is…

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…

This digest discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using item banks, and it provides useful information for those who are considering implementing an item banking project in their school districts. The primary advantage of item banking is in test development. Using an item response theory method, such as the Rasch model, items from multiple…

Although computerized adaptive tests acquire their efficiency by successively selecting items that provide optimal measurement at each examinee's estimated level of ability, operational testing programs will typically consider additional factors in item selection. In practice, items are generally selected with regard to at least three, often…

This study developed a model to simulate nonmodel-fitting responses in a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) environment, and to examine the effectiveness of the model. The underlying idea was to simulate examinees' test behaviors realistically. This study simulated a situation in which examinees are exposed to or are coached on test items before…

An expert/novice paradigm is applied to the development of a computer-assisted test of spatial aptitude. The qualitative differences in encoding and solution strategies between high and low "spatials" were demonstrated. Initial efforts focused on the ubiquitous figural analogy test ("A:B::C:D"). Converging evidence from a…

A recent innovation in the area of educational measurement is MDT multi-digit testing, a machine-scored near-equivalent to "fill-in-the-blank" testing. The MDT method is based on long lists (or "Answer Banks") that contain up to 1,000 discrete answers, each with a three-digit label. Students taking an MDT multi-digit test mark…

The capabilities and hardware requirements of four microcomputer software packages produced by the Office of Educational Testing, Research and Service at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are described. These programs are: (1) the Scan-Tron Forms Analysis Package Version 2.0, an interface between an IBM-compatible and a Scan-Tron…

In educational testing, one is concerned to get as much information as possible about a given examinee from each minute of testing time. Maximum information is obtained when the difficulty of each test exercise matches the estimated ability level of the examinee. The goal of adaptive testing is to accomplish this. Adaptive patterns are reviewed…

Computer simulation was used to assess the effects of item parameter estimation errors on different item selection strategies used in adaptive and conventional testing. To determine whether these effects reduced the advantages of certain optimal item selection strategies, simulations were repeated in the presence and absence of item parameter…

Indices were constructed to measure individual differences in the effects of the automated testing format and repeated testing on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) responses. Two types of instability measures were studied within a data set from the responses of 150 undergraduate students who took a computer-administered and…

In order to estimate the classical coefficient of test reliability, parallel measurements are needed. H. Gulliksen's matched random subtests method, which is a graphical method for splitting a test into parallel test halves, has practical relevance because it maximizes the alpha coefficient as a lower bound of the classical test reliability…

A new test construction method based on integer linear programming is described. This method selects optimal tests in small amounts of computer time. The new method, called the Cluster-Based Method, assumes that the items in the bank have been grouped according to their item information curves so that items within a group, or cluster, are…