Differentiated assessment of mathematical competence with multidimensional adaptive testing

The theoretical frameworks of large-scale assessments (LSAs) typically describe complex competence constructs. However, due to restrictions in testing time, the complexity of these competence constructs is often reduced to one or a small number of dimensions in operational LSAs. Because of its very...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological test and assessment modeling 2016-12, Vol.58 (4), p.617-639
Main Authors: Mikolajetz, Anna, Frey, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:eng ; ger
Subjects:
Adaptives Testen
Bildungsforschung
Computer
Computertechnologie
Computerunterstütztes Verfahren
Internationaler Vergleich
Item-Response-Theorie
Modell
Schulleistungsmessung
Testen
Vergleichsuntersuchung
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Summary:The theoretical frameworks of large-scale assessments (LSAs) typically describe complex competence constructs. However, due to restrictions in testing time, the complexity of these competence constructs is often reduced to one or a small number of dimensions in operational LSAs. Because of its very high measurement efficiency, multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT) offers a solution to overcome this shortcoming. The present study demonstrates the capability of MAT to measure the 11 subdimensions of mathematical competence that are described in the theoretical framework of the German Educational Standards in Mathematics with sufficient precision without increasing test length. The characteristics of an empirically derived 11-dimensional competence distribution of 9,577 students and the parameters for 253 operational test items were used to simulate the application of MAT. Typical restrictions such as the usage of testlets or the fact that items in an open response format are in the item pool were taken into account in the simulation. Although the used item pool was not constructed for adaptive testing, the results show substantially higher reliability estimates for MAT compared to non-adaptive testing, especially for the subdimensions of mathematical competence, which are not as yet reported in the assessment. The results underscore the capacity of MAT to precisely measure competence constructs with many dimensions without the need to increase test length. This research therefore closes the current gap between theoretical underpinnings and actual measures in LSAs. (Orig.).
ISSN:2190-0507
2190-0493