SELF-ADAPTED TESTING - IMPROVING PERFORMANCE BY MODIFYING TESTS INSTEAD OF EXAMINEES

This paper describes self-adapted testing and some of the evidence con cerning its effects. presents possible theoretical explanations for th ose effects, and discusses some of the practical concerns regarding se lf-adapted testing. Self-adapted testing is a variant of computerized adapted testing in which the examinee makes dynamic choices about the difficulty of the items he or she attempts. Self-adapted testing gener ates scores that are, in contrast to computerized adapted test and fix ed-item tests. uncorrelated with a measure of the trait test anxiety. This lack of correlation with an irrelevant attribute of the examinee is evidence of an improvement in the construct validity of the scores. This improvement comes at the cost of a decrease in testing efficienc y. The interaction between test anxiety and test administration mode i s more consistent with an interference theory of test anxiety than a d eficit theory. Sonic of the practical concerns regarding self-adapted testing can be ruled out logically, but others await empirical investi gation.