In computerized adaptive testing, overexposure of items in the bank is a serious problem and might result in item compromise. We develop an item selection algorithm that utilizes the entire bank well and reduces the overexposure of items. The algorithm is based on collaborative filtering and selects an item in two stages. In the first stage, a set…

Grouping individuals according to a set of measured characteristics, or profiling, is frequently used in describing, understanding, and acting on a phenomenon. The advent of computer-based assessment offers new possibilities for profiling writing because aspects can be captured that were not heretofore observable. We explored whether writing…

Administrative problems such as computer malfunction and power outage occasionally lead to missing item scores, and hence to incomplete data, on credentialing tests such as the United States Medical Licensing examination. Feinberg compared four approaches for reporting pass-fail decisions to the examinees with incomplete data on credentialing…

The focus of this paper is on the empirical relationship between item difficulty and item discrimination. Two studies--an empirical investigation and a simulation study--were conducted to examine the association between item difficulty and item discrimination under classical test theory and item response theory (IRT), and the effects of the…

Technical difficulties occasionally lead to missing item scores and hence to incomplete data on computerized tests. It is not straightforward to report scores to the examinees whose data are incomplete due to technical difficulties. Such reporting essentially involves imputation of missing scores. In this paper, a simulation study based on data…

Test score users often demand the reporting of subscores due to their potential diagnostic, remedial, and instructional benefits. Therefore, there is substantial pressure on testing programs to report subscores. However, professional standards require that subscores have to satisfy minimum quality standards before they can be reported. In this…

The choice of anchor tests is crucial in applications of the nonequivalent groups with anchor test design of equating. Sinharay and Holland (2006, 2007) suggested "miditests," which are anchor tests that are content-representative and have the same mean item difficulty as the total test but have a smaller spread of item difficulties.…

Data mining methods for classification and regression are becoming increasingly popular in various scientific fields. However, these methods have not been explored much in educational measurement. This module first provides a review, which should be accessible to a wide audience in education measurement, of some of these methods. The module then…

Feinberg and Wainer (2014) provided a simple equation to approximate/predict a subscore's value. The purpose of this note is to point out that their equation is often inaccurate in that it does not always predict a subscore's value correctly. Therefore, the utility of their simple equation is not clear.

Standard 3.9 of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ([, 1999]) demands evidence of model fit when item response theory (IRT) models are employed to data from tests. Hambleton and Han ([Hambleton, R. K., 2005]) and Sinharay ([Sinharay, S., 2005]) recommended the assessment of practical significance of misfit of IRT models, but…

Brennan (Brennan, R. L., 2012) noted that users of test scores often want (indeed, demand) that subscores be reported, along with total test scores, for diagnostic purposes. Haberman (Haberman, S. J., 2008) suggested a method based on classical test theory (CTT) to determine if subscores have added value over the total score. According to this…

Over the past few decades, those who take tests in the United States have exhibited increasing diversity with respect to native language. Standard psychometric procedures for ensuring item and test fairness that have existed for some time were developed when test-taking groups were predominantly native English speakers. A better understanding of…

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to subscores. First, examples of subscores from an operational test are provided. Then, a review of methods that can be used to examine if subscores have adequate psychometric quality is provided. It is demonstrated, using results from operational and simulated data, that subscores…

There is an increasing interest in reporting subscores, both at examinee level and at aggregate levels. However, it is important to ensure reasonable subscore performance in terms of high reliability and validity to minimize incorrect instructional and remediation decisions. This article employs a statistical measure based on classical test theory…