AN INVESTIGATION OF SELF-ADAPTED TESTING IN A SPANISH HIGH-SCHOOL POPULATION

This study, using Spanish high school students, compared four types of a computer-based English vocabulary test: (a) a self-adapted test (SA T), (b) a computerized adaptive test (CAT), (c) a conventional test of randomly selected items, and (d) a test that combined SAT and CAT (SC AT). No statistically significant differences were found among the tes t types for either estimated ability or posttest anxiety Statistically significant differences were found for the number of correct response s (omega(2) = .091) and testing time (omega(2) = .023). The results su ggest caution in generalizations made by researchers and practitioners regarding the effects of SAT on examinees.