Testing and Measurement

Abstract This chapter addresses many of the changes that are taking place in the educational and psychological measurement field today. First, different types of educational and psychological tests are described, and examples are provided of the variety of venues in which they are administered. Next, some major changes that have taken place in the field of psychometrics in the past 30 years are introduced; most prominent among them is the shift from classical test theory to item response theory (IRT). Following a comparison of classical test theory to IRT, and a discussion of the former's shortcomings, main IRT concepts and several widely used IRT models are presented in more detail. IRT model applications to test development and computer‐adaptive testing are described. An introduction to different types of computer‐based testing that vary along the adaptive continuum is also provided. Next, a number of other prominent changes that are taking place in the testing field that have methodological implications for the practice of measurement—new item types, cognitive‐based models for assessment, setting standards on tests, new conceptions of validity, and testing of candidates with disabilities—are outlined.