ONLINE TEST DEVELOPMENT
Item Response Theory
Item response theory (IRT) is the testing paradigm of the 21st century.
FastTEST Web gives you the opportunity to leverage the numerous benefits of item response theory for item banking, test assembly, and online test delivery. Evaluate important aspects of your test before publishing, with the test information function (TIF) and conditional standard error of measurement function (CSEM). These provide an inside peek as to how the test will perform for each level of examinee ability. Build powerful computerized adaptive tests (CATs), making your tests more precise and efficient, as well as providing benefits for the test-taker. Contact us to learn more about how IRT can produce more precise test scores.
Advantages of IRT
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More powerful test assembly with TIF and CSEM, including parallel form construction
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Better description of item performance (difficulty, discrimination, and guessing) and model fit
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More precise scoring
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Examinees and items are placed on the same scale
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Examinee scores are independent of test difficulty and the set of items used
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Item statistics are independent of examinee sample
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Enables computerized adaptive testing (CAT) to dramatically reduce test length and improve score precision
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Provides an estimate of each examinee's score precision, based on their responses
If your organization does not have a background in IRT, our Ph.D. psychometricians can help you apply IRT to your testing program and fully realize these advantages.