Computer Adaptive Testing
- Details
- Last Updated on Friday, 10 August 2012 14:39
Description
A form of computer based testing that progressively adapts to the student’s ability level. The system starts with a series of questions based upon the estimate of the user’s ability. The system then includes progressively more difficult questions until the student starts to answer them incorrectly at which point the system accurately determines the ability level of the person being tested.
Context:
Computer adaptive testing is typically used multiple times over the course of a school year as a formative assessment tool. The tool is designed to provide feedback to the teacher and the learner allowing for the adjustment of instructional methods and activities.
There are a variety of testing products on the market today including computer adaptive tools designed to determine the proficiency level of the learner. These tools bill themselves as a formative testing system that responds dynamically to the learner allowing for multiple assessments throughout the course of the school year.
Considerations or Implications:
It is unclear as to whether the new Smarter Balanced Assessment system, the replacement for the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE), will be considered a computer adaptive testing system. Early indications are that this system will not meet that criteria and would be more accurately characterized as a computer-based test that does not level the questions to the ability of the learner. Instead the system will provide a set of questions based upon the grade level of the learner and assess based upon the standards and benchmarks for that grade level.
Districts wishing to augment their assessment tools to provide more formative assessment data may wish to examine computer adaptive testing tools and compare them to other more traditional formative assessment systems.
Advantages:
Adaptive tests have the advantage of providing uniformly precise scores for most test-takers as opposed to standard fixed tests that tend to provide the best precision for users of medium ability. Standard fixed tests have a more difficult time precisely measuring the ability level for those learners at the high and low extremes.
An adaptive test can also be up to 50% shorter than a fixed version which may translate into a time savings. This may be especially beneficial given the desire to give formative assessments multiple times over a year.
Disadvantages:
Any adaptive system requires a rigorous calibration to ensure validity and reliability of results. This calibration is done by the vendor which explains the high costs of this type of system.
Any such system is heavily dependent on frequent access to the school’s computer lab which would limit access for instructional purposes.
Resources:
International Association for Computerized Adaptive Testing
Concerto: Open-source CAT Platform
CAT Central by David J. Weiss
Frequently Asked Questions about Computer-Adaptive Testing (CAT). Retrieved April 15, 2005
Computerized Adaptive Tests — from the Education Resources Information Center
David Gundlach, WASCD Board of Directors