Nathan Thompson articles
NCCA Accreditation of Credentialing Programs
NCCA accreditation is a stamp of approval on the quality of a certification program, governed by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).™ This is part of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence™, the leader in
What is the Beuk Compromise?
The Beuk Compromise or Beuk Adjustment is a method for a “reality check” on the results of a modified-Angoff standard setting study. It is well-known that experts will often overestimate examinee capabilities and choose a
Adaptive Testing SAT: Intro & Free Practice Test
The adaptive SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) exam was announced in January 2022 by the College Board, with the goal to modernize the test and make it more widely available, migrating the exam from paper-and-pencil to
What Makes a Test Biased or Unfair?
One of the primary goals of psychometrics and assessment research is to ensure that tests, their scores, and interpretations of the scores, are reliable, valid, and fair. The concepts of reliability and validity are discussed
Examinee Collusion: Primary vs Secondary
In the field of psychometric forensics, examinee collusion refers to cases where an examinee takes a test with some sort of external help in obtaining the correct answers. There are several possibilities: Low ability examinees
What is the Positive Manifold?
Positive manifold refers to the fact that scores on cognitive assessment tend to correlate very highly with each other, indicating a common latent dimension that is very strong. This latent dimension became known as g for
Certification, Certificate, and Licensure Exams – What is the difference?
Certification, Certificate, and Licensure are terms that are used quite frequently to refer to credentialing examinations that someone has to pass to demonstrate skills in a certain profession or topic. They are quite similar, and
What is an Assessment / Test Battery?
A test battery or assessment battery is a set multiple psychometrically-distinct exams delivered in one administration. In some cases, these are various tests that are cobbled together for related purposes, such as a psychologist testing
Test Response Function in Item Response Theory
The Test Response Function (TRF) in item response theory (IRT) is a mathematical function that describes the relationship between the latent trait that a test is measuring, which psychometricians call theta (θ), and the predicted
Three Approaches for IRT Equating
If you are delivering high-stakes tests in linear forms – or piloting a bank for CAT/LOFT – you are faced with the issue of how to equate the forms together. That is, how can we
Power of linear on the fly testing
Linear on the fly testing (LOFT) is an approach to assessment delivery that increases test security by limiting item exposure. It tries to balance the advantages of linear testing (e.g., everyone sees the same number
Norm-Referenced vs. Criterion-Referenced Testing
The two terms Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced are commonly used to describe tests, exams, and assessments. They are often some of the first concepts learned when studying assessment and psychometrics. Norm-referenced means that we are referencing how
Item-total point-biserial correlation
The item-total point-biserial correlation is a common psychometric index regarding the quality of a test item, namely how well it differentiates between examinees with high vs low ability. What is item discrimination? While the word
CalHR Selects Assessment Systems as Vendor for Personnel Selection
The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR, calhr.ca.gov/) has selected Assessment Systems Corporation (ASC, assess.com) as its vendor for an online assessment platform. CalHR is responsible for the personnel selection and hiring of many job roles for
Learn About Tech Innovation With Dr. Nathan Thompson On The EdNorth EdTech Podcast
Nathan Thompson, Ph.D., was recently invited to talk about ASC and the future of educational assessment on the Ednorth EdTech Podcast. EdNorth is an association dedicated to continuing the long history of innovation in educational
What is a Standard Setting Study?
A standard setting study is a formal process for establishing a performance standard. In the assessment world, there are actually two uses of the word standard - the other one refers to...
Item Analysis and Statistics
Item analysis is the statistical evaluation of test questions to ensure they are good quality, and fix them if they are not. This is a key step in the test development cycle; after items have
Seven Technology Hacks to Deliver Assessments More Securely
So, yeah, the use of “hacks” in the title is definitely on the ironic and gratuitous side, but there is still a point to be made: are you making full use of current technology to