SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONDUCTING MULTI-LAYER USER SELECTABLE ELECTRONIC TESTING

摘要

A multi-layer user-selectable electronic testing (MUSET) system provides a cascaded set of alternative testing formats for test-takers to select a testing format that best accommodates their level of ability. Test-takers can answer fill-in-the-blank (FITB) items on a computer or other input device. If the test-taker is less confident of their understanding, they can select multiple-choice (MC) or true/false (T/F) testing formats. The MUSET system measures, tracks, and stores the amount of time it takes to answer test items, to switch testing formats, and to change answers. Test-takers indicate a confidence level that they have in the correctness of their answer. The MUSET system determines confidence characteristics, latency characteristics, and hesitancy characteristics of the test-taker and gathers additional parameters to build a performance profile of the test-taker's skills/traits/abilities. The performance profile is analyzed to guide and inform evaluators regarding individual performance, trends over time, differences between test-taker subsets, and analyses of test items.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented multi-layer user-selectable electronic testing method for building an electronic test-taker performance profile comprising executing on a computer processor the steps of:
building a test specifications file with electronic test item content from a test item database; appending the test specifications file with scoring parameters from a database of global parameters; automatically delivering an electronic test item to a test-taker on a display device, wherein the electronic test item includes the test specifications file with the electronic test item content and the scoring parameters; receiving an electronic test item response from the test-taker to the electronic test item presented delivered to the test-taker; storing the electronic test item response in an item response database; calculating a test item score for the received electronic test item response using the scoring parameters record; receiving a test item response confidence level indicating the test-taker's confidence in the correctness of the electronic test item response; storing the test item response confidence level in the item response database; automatically calculating a confidence level based upon the received test item response confidence level; determining an amount of time required for the test-taker to provide the electronic test item response after the electronic test item was delivered to the test-taker; automatically calculating a latency score based upon the determined amount of time required for the test-taker to provide the electronic test item response; determining a number of changes to the electronic test item response that the test-taker makes before the test taker submits the electronic test item response for receipt; automatically calculating a hesitancy score based upon the number of changes to the electronic test item response that the test-taker makes; and building an electronic performance profile of the test-taker based upon a number of correct answers, the confidence level of the electronic test item response, the latency score, and the hesitancy score.