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…
Entries by Nathan Thompson, PhD
Assess.ai: Finalist in 2021 EdTech Awards
We are proud to announce that ASC’s next-generation platform, Assess.ai, was recently announced as a Finalist for the 2021 EdTech Awards. This follows the successful launch of the landmark platform in 2020, where it quickly garnered attention as a finalist for the Innovation award at the 2020 conference of the Association of Test Publishers. What […]
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 been delivered to examinees (either as a pilot, or in full usage), we analyze the statistics to determine if there […]
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 keep your tests secure? Gone are the days when you are limited to linear test forms on paper in physical […]
The IACAT Journal: JCAT
Do you conduct adaptive testing research? Perhaps a thesis or dissertation? Or maybe you have developed adaptive tests and have a technical report or validity study? I encourage you to check out the Journal of Computerized Adaptive Testing as a publication outlet for your adaptive testing research. JCAT is the official journal of the International […]
IRT Test Information Function
The IRT Test Information Function is a concept from item response theory (IRT) that is designed to evaluate how well an assessment differentiates examinees, and at what ranges of ability. For example, we might expect an exam composed of difficult items to do a great job in differentiating top examinees, but it is worthless for […]
What Is The Standard Error of Measurement?
The standard error of measurement (SEM) is one of the core concepts in psychometrics. One of the primary assumptions of any assessment is that it is accurately and consistently measuring whatever it is we want to measure. We, therefore, need to demonstrate that it is doing so. There are a number of ways of quantifying […]
Question Banks: An Introduction
What is a question bank? A question bank refers to a pool of test questions to be used on various assessments across time. ..
Psychometrist: What do they do?
A psychometrist is an important profession within the world of assessment and psychology. Their primary role is to deliver and interpret assessments, typically the sorts of assessments that are delivered in a one-on-one clinical situation. For example, they might give IQ tests to kids to identify those who qualify as Gifted, then explain the results […]
What is Classical Item Difficulty (P Value)?
One of the core concepts in psychometrics is item difficulty. This refers to the probability that examinees will get the item correct for educational/cognitive assessments or respond in the keyed direction with psychological/survey assessments (more on that later). Difficulty is important for evaluating the characteristics of an item and whether it should continue to be part of […]
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