Okan BULUT* and Adnan KAN**
*Research Assist.University of Minnesota, Department of Educational Psychology.
** Assoc Prof Dr. Gazi University, Department of Educational Sciences.

Abstract

Problem Statement: Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is a sophisticated and efficient way of delivering examinations. In CAT, items for each examinee are selected from an item bank based on the examinee’s responses to the items. In this way, the difficulty level of the test is adjusted based on the examinee’s ability level. Instead of administering very long tests, CAT can estimate examinees’ ability levels with a small number of items. A number of operational testing programs have implemented CAT during the last decade. However, CAT hasn’t been applied to any operational test in Turkey, where there are several standardized assessments taken by millions of people every year. Therefore, this study investigates the applicability of CAT to a high-stakes test in Turkey.

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to examine the applicability of CAT procedure to the Entrance Examination for Graduate Studies (EEGS), which is used in selecting students for graduate programs in Turkish universities.

Keywords: Computerized adaptive testing, item response theory, standardized assessment, reliability.