Computerized adaptive testing, or CAT, is a form of computer-based test that adapts to the examinee's own ability level, and for this reason has also been called tailored testing. In a computerized adaptive test, the next item or set of items presented to the test taker depends on the correctness of that test taker's responses to the most recently administered items, rather than following a fixed sequence used for every examinee.
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Partially Attested
Origin YearThe article names only the decade ("the 1970s"), not a specific year; 1970 is stored as the decade's first year pending a more precise date. Core ClaimComputerized adaptive testing (CAT) is a form of computer-based test that adapts to the examinee's own ability level, successively selecting items to maximize the precision of the exam based on what is already known about the examinee from previous items. 1 FAQs
Why can a computerized adaptive test be shorter than a fixed test?
Adaptive tests can often be half the length of a fixed test with higher precision.
Because each question is chosen from what the test already knows about the examinee, the test does not spend time on items that are far too hard or trivially easy. An adaptive test can typically be shortened by 50 percent and still keep higher precision than a fixed version. The cost is on the developer side: building a computerized adaptive test takes much more expense than a standard fixed-form test, so a large testing population is needed for the program to pay for itself.
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Source Computerized adaptive testing (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Computerized adaptive testing (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
CAT has existed since the 1970s, and there are now many assessments that utilize it.
Lead section, mechanism description
CAT successively selects questions for the purpose of maximizing the precision of the exam based on what is known about the examinee from previous questions.
Associated With: Item Response Theory, Mechanism section, psychometric basis
The psychometric technology that allows equitable scores to be computed across different sets of items is item response theory (IRT).
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