A Comparison of Item Exposure Control Methods in Computerized Adaptive Testing

Two new methods for item exposure control were proposed. In the Progressive method, as the test progresses, the influence of a random component on item selection is reduced and the importance of item information is increasingly more prominent. In the Restricted Maximum Information method, no item is allowed to be exposed in more than a predetermined proportion of tests. Both methods were compared with six other item-selection methods (Maximum Information, One Parameter, McBride and Martin, Randomesque, Sympson and Hetter, and Random Item Selection) with regard to test precision and item exposure variables. Results showed that the Restricted method was useful to reduce maximum exposure rates and that the Progressive method reduced the number of unused items. Both did well regarding precision. Thus, a combined Progressive-Restricted method may be useful to control item exposure without a serious decrease in test precision. One of the main goals of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is to obtain precise ability estimates with a small number of items. To achieve this goal, items are selected specifically for each examinee from a large bank. Selection is based on characteristics of examinees (their provisional estimated ability) and items (their difficulty and discrimination parameters). Thus, a different subset of items may be administered to each person (Hambleton, Swaminathan, & Rogers, 1991).

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