A two-stage adaptive test and a conventional peaked test were constructed and administered on a time-shared computer system to students in undergraduate psychology courses. (The two-stage adaptive test consisted of a routing test followed by one of a series of measurement tests.) Comparison of the score distributions showed that the two-stage test…

Research to date on adaptive (sequential, branched, individualized, tailored, programmed, response-contingent) ability testing is reviewed and summarized, following a brief review of problems inherent in conventional individual and group approaches to ability measurement. Research reviewed includes empirical, simulation and theoretical studies of…

Monte Carlo simulation procedures were used to study the psychometric characteristics of two two-stage adaptive tests and a conventional "peaked" ability test. Results showed that scores yielded by both two-stage tests better reflected the normal distribution of underlying ability. Ability estimates yielded by one of the two stage tests…