Computerized adaptive testing : theory and practice

Modern computer technology has opened up several new possibilities for optimizing the administration of educational and psychological tests. In computer adaptive testing (CAT), tests are automatically tailored to the proficiency level of the individual examinees. Currently, nearly all large-scale testing programs in the western world are already adaptive or in the process of becoming so. Written by active CAT researchers from Europe and North America, the chapters offer a comprehensive introduction to the latest developments in the theory and practice of CAT. The book can be used both as a basic reference on the state of the art in CAT and a valuable resource in graduate courses on test theory. The theoretical chapters in this book cover such topics as item selection and ability estimation, item pool development and maintenance, item calibration and model fit, and testlet-based adaptive testing. The practical chapters describe the operational aspects of existing large-scale CAT programs. Item Selection and Ability Estimation in Adaptive Testing....Pages 1-25 Constrained Adaptive Testing with Shadow Tests....Pages 27-52 Principles of Multidimensional Adaptive Testing....Pages 53-73 The GRE Computer Adaptive Test: Operational Issues....Pages 75-99 MATHCAT: A flexible testing system in mathematics education for adults....Pages 101-116 Computer-Adaptive Sequential Testing....Pages 117-128 Innovative Item Types for Computerized Testing....Pages 129-148 Designing Item Pools for Computerized Adaptive Testing....Pages 149-162 Methods of Controlling the Exposure of Items in CAT....Pages 163-182 Item Calibration and Parameter Drift....Pages 183-199 Detecting Person Misfit in Adaptive Testing Using Statistical Process Control Techniques....Pages 201-219 The Assessment of Differential Item Functioning in Comput Adaptive Tests....Pages 221-244 Testlet Response Theory: An Analog for the 3PL Model Useful in Testlet-Based Adaptive Testing....Pages 245-269 MML and EAP Estimation in Testlet-based Adaptive Testing....Pages 271-287 Testlet-Based Adaptive Mastery Testing....Pages 289-309 It covers such topics as item selection and ability estimation, item pool development and maintenance, item calibration and model fit, and testlet-based adaptive testing, as well as the operational aspects of existing large-scale CAT programs.