The test blueprint is important in test development, where it guides the test item writer in creating test items according to the desired objectives and specifications or characteristics (so-called a priori item characteristics), such as the level of item difficulty in the category and the distribution of items based on their difficulty level.…

Item banks are generally considered the basis of a new generation of educational measurement. In combination with specialized software, they can facilitate the computerized assembling of multiple pre-equated test forms. However, for advantages of item banks to become fully realized it is important that the item banks store a relatively large…

In the last decades, the development of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) has allowed more precise measurements with a smaller number of items. In this study, we develop an item bank (IB) to generate the adaptive algorithm and simulate the functioning of CAT to assess the domains of mathematical knowledge in Argentinian university students…

Many large universities, community colleges and some smaller four-year colleges are turning to hybrid or online instruction for remedial and entry level mathematics courses, often assessed using online exams in a proctored computer lab environment. Faculty face the task of choosing questions from a publisher's text bank with very little, if any,…

The arrangement of response options in multiple-choice (MC) items, especially the location of the most attractive distractor, is considered critical in constructing high-quality MC items. In the current study, a sample of 496 undergraduate students taking an educational assessment course was given three test forms consisting of the same items but…

Figural matrices tasks are one of the most prominent item formats used in intelligence tests, and their relevance for the assessment of cognitive abilities is unquestionable. However, despite endeavors of the open science movement to make scientific research accessible on all levels, there is a lack of royalty-free figural matrices tests. The Open…

Production of high-quality multiple-choice questions (MCQs) for both formative and summative assessments is a time-consuming task requiring great skill, creativity and insight. The transition to online examinations, with the concomitant exposure of previously tried-and-tested MCQs, exacerbates the challenges of question production and highlights…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a real-time multidimensional computerized adaptive test (MCAT) using data from a previous paper-pencil test (PPT) regarding the grammar and vocabulary dimensions of an end-of-term proficiency exam conducted on students in a preparatory class at a university. An item pool was established through four…

The main purpose of this article is to present a Differential Item Functioning method of item analysis. It is designed to minimize the discriminatory effect of individual items in the accreditation of graduates of medical universities with different training programs. The one-parameter Item Response Theory model is used to align graduates' rights…

Progress Test (PT) is a form of assessment that simultaneously measures ability levels of all students in a certain educational program and their progress over time by providing them with same questions and repeating the process at regular intervals with parallel tests. Our objective was to generate an item bank for the PT and to examine the…

Even graduate physics students have many misconceptions about basic wave optics phenomena. This suggests that there is much room for improvement of the traditional wave optics curriculum. An effective way for initiating a curriculum change is to reconsider and revise the expected learning outcomes and corresponding assessment instruments. By…

Tests targeting the upper limits of student ability could aid students in their learning. This article gives an overview of an approach to the construction of such tests in programming, together with ideas on how to implement and refine them within a learning management system.

This paper describes the development and validation of an item bank designed for students to assess their own achievements across an undergraduate-degree programme in seven generic competences (i.e., problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, creative-thinking skills, ethical decision-making skills, effective communication skills, social…

Using Item Response Theory (IRT) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the goal of this study was to select a reduced pool of items from the French Canadian version of the Self-Directed Search--Activities Section (Holland, Fritzsche, & Powell, 1994). Two studies were conducted. Results of Study 1, involving 727 French Canadian students,…

An accurately calibrated item bank is essential for a valid computerized adaptive test. However, in some settings, such as occupational testing, there is limited access to test takers for calibration. As a result of the limited access to possible test takers, collecting data to accurately calibrate an item bank in an occupational setting is…