Computerized adaptive testing can provide greater accuracy, greater validity and more precise assessment results, as well as a more encouraging test-taking experience for students.
Whether it’s a question of sample size, budget or something else entirely, not every test is a good candidate for computerized adaptive testing. Yet, where computerized adaptive testing is a good fit, it can make a positive difference for students and stakeholders alike—in any language.
When students are asked to take educational assessments, they deserve the opportunity to do their best—with fair and valid assessments that accurately measure their knowledge and abilities. One way that test developers and other stakeholders can help make that happen—and produce better assessments—is by using computerized adaptive testing.
Today, assessments with a fixed set of items are still the standard. Yet, these assessments are typically better at measuring average students with mid-level abilities. But what about all of the other students who naturally fall elsewhere on the bell curve?
Low-performing and high-performing students taking a test with a fixed set of items have a harder time getting on the test’s radar and having their abilities and performance accurately measured.
Not only that, but low-performing students can quickly feel frustrated at getting few of the questions right and increasingly discouraged with their education in general. High-performing students don’t tend to respond well to tests geared towards the middle either; fixed tests allow them to just skate by, often causing them to feel bored and unchallenged, and without getting a good reading on their actual abilities.
In contrast, computerized adaptive testing allows for a more accurate assessment that’s more encouraging for students to take. Computerized adaptive testing, also known as tailored testing, refers to a computer-administered assessment that selects items of progressively higher or lower difficulty in response to the test taker’s performance. In addition, as the assessment advances, test takers aren’t required to spend time answering test items that will be too difficult or too easy, which saves test time as well.
When an assessment is customized through computerized adaptive testing, both low-performing and high-performing students will receive test items that are more in line with their knowledge and abilities. This allows each group to be challenged but not discouraged with their version of the test and with their performance. Average-performing students will get an accurate reading of their knowledge and abilities too, but with computerized adaptive testing, they won’t be the only ones.
To make it all work, computerized adaptive testing typically uses item response theory, which we’ve talked about in a previous blog post. Item response theory is a model that measures each test item’s difficulty and the probability that a test taker will respond with the correct answer. However, the most important element of computerized adaptive testing is the item bank itself; it’s the very foundation, which is why we’ll be taking a closer look at item banks in a future blog post and their potential for use with multiple audiences, such as speakers of other languages.
After all, computerized adaptive testing isn’t an English-only affair. With the right translation and adaptation of an item bank, combined with solid psychometric support, computerized adaptive testing can easily be used for additional cultural and linguistic audiences—and at a fraction of the cost of original test development.
Certified for ISO 9001, Responsive Translation specializes in translation, adaptation, validation and review for high-stakes assessments. That’s why we work with most of the major test publishers in the United States today. We’d love to work with your organization too!
If you’d like to find out more about our range of foreign-language assessment services and how we can help your organization, please get in touch at 646-847-3309 or [email protected].