Nathan Thompson articles
Ebel Method of Standard Setting
The Ebel method of standard setting is a psychometric approach to establish a cutscore for tests consisting of multiple-choice questions. It is usually used for high-stakes examinations in the fields of higher education, medical and health
Distractor Analysis for Test Items
Distractor analysis refers to the process of evaluating the performance of incorrect answers vs the correct answer for multiple choice items on a test. It is a key step in the psychometric analysis process to
What is multi-modal test delivery?
Multi-modal test delivery refers to an exam that is capable of being delivered in several different ways, or of a online testing software platform designed to support this process. For example, you might provide the
Confidence Interval for Test Scores
A confidence interval for test scores is a common way to interpret the results of a test by phrasing it as a range rather than a single number. We all understand that tests provide imperfect
Composite Test Score
A composite test score refers to a test score that is combined from the scores of multiple tests, that is, a test battery. The purpose is to create a single number that succinctly summarizes examinee
Inter-Rater Reliability vs Agreement
Inter-rater reliability and inter-rater agreement are important concepts in certain psychometric situations. For many assessments, there is never any encounter with raters, but there certainly are plenty of assessments that do. This article will define
Split Half Reliability Index
Split Half Reliability is an internal consistency approach to quantifying the reliability of a test, in the paradigm of classical test theory. Reliability refers to the repeatability or consistency of the test scores; we definitely
What is a Cutscore or Passing Point?
A cutscore or passing point (aka cut-off score and cutoff score as well) is a score on a test that is used to categorize examinees. The most common example of this is pass/fail, which we
Nedelsky Method of Standard Setting
The Nedelsky method is an approach to setting the cutscore of an exam. Originally suggested by Nedelsky (1954), it is an early attempt to implement a quantitative, rigorous procedure to the process of standard setting.
What is Scaled Scoring on a Test?
Scaled scoring is a process used in assessment and psychometrics to transform exam scores to another scale (set of numbers), typically to make the scores more easily interpretable but also to hide sensitive information like
What are Enemy Items?
Enemy items is a psychometric term that refers to two test questions (items) which should not be on the same test form (if linear) seen by a given examinee (if LOFT or adaptive). This can
Webinar Recording: A History of Computerized Adaptive Testing with Prof. David J. Weiss
ASC hosted a webinar on June 14, 2022, as part of its AI In Assessment Series. This edition is an interview with the father of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), Prof. David J. Weiss. Learn more
Incremental Validity
Incremental validity is a specific aspect of criterion-related validity that refers to what an additional assessment or predictive variable can add to the information provided by existing assessments or variables. It refers to the amount
Case Study: Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP), Colombia
ASC partners with Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP) to develop and securely deliver nationwide civil service exams in Colombia as well as admissions exams for educational programs in the field of civil service. We
Assess.ai Passes Audit for FISMA / FedRAMP
ASC is proud to announce that we have successfully passed an audit for FISMA / FedRAMP Moderate, demonstrating our extremely high security standards for our online assessment platform! FISMA and FedRAMP are both security protocols
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE Exam) is an assessment designed to measure performance of tasks, typically medical, in a high-fidelity way. It is more a test of skill than knowledge. For example, I used to
AI Remote Proctoring: How To Choose A Solution
AI remote proctoring has seen an incredible increase of usage during the COVID pandemic. ASC works with a very wide range of clients, with a wide range of remote proctoring needs, and therefore we partner
Test Score Reliability and Validity
Test score reliability and validity are core concepts in the field of psychometrics and assessment. Both of them refer to the quality of a test, the scores it produces, and how we use those scores.