Linking Cut-Scores Given Changes in the Decision-Making Process, Administration Time, and Proportions of Item Types Between Successive Administrations of a Test for a Large-Scale Assessment Program

There is a continuing tension in testing programs to equate forms and maintain score scales and at the same time allow for changing conditions in the educational system, such as curriculum shifts or practical limits on testing time. When such changes occur, psychometric staff members are challenged to develop linking methods that allow for comparable reporting but meet requirements for psychometric rigor. This article describes a method addressing such shifts in testing programs. The application of the method is demonstrated on a large-scale educational testing program that had changes in test length, content distribution, and decision-making process. The method used to accomplish the linkage was to develop a pseudo test from the items included in the longer test before the change that was designed to mimic the test after the change. The linking of the tests using the pseudo test process resulted in a percentage of successful students that was similar to the percentages obtained prior to the changes. The linked scores were treated as comparable rather than equated scores.