02242nas a2200217   4500008004100000020002200041245014200063210006900205260004100274300001200315490000700327520142600334653001401760653003401774653002301808653001601831653002701847100001201874700001701886856012101903       2005                        eng d  a0022-0655 (Print)00aIncreasing the homogeneity of CAT's item-exposure rates by minimizing or maximizing varied target functions while assembling shadow tests0 aIncreasing the homogeneity of CATs itemexposure rates by minimiz  bBlackwell Publishing: United Kingdom  a245-2690 v423 aA computerized adaptive testing (CAT) algorithm that has the potential to increase the homogeneity of CATs item-exposure rates without significantly sacrificing the precision of ability estimates was proposed and assessed in the shadow-test (van der Linden & Reese, 1998) CAT context. This CAT algorithm was formed by a combination of maximizing or minimizing varied target functions while assembling shadow tests. There were four target functions to be separately used in the first, second, third, and fourth quarter test of CAT. The elements to be used in the four functions were associated with (a) a random number assigned to each item, (b) the absolute difference between an examinee's current ability estimate and an item difficulty, (c) the absolute difference between an examinee's current ability estimate and an optimum item difficulty, and (d) item information. The results indicated that this combined CAT fully utilized all the items in the pool, reduced the maximum exposure rates, and achieved more homogeneous exposure rates. Moreover, its precision in recovering ability estimates was similar to that of the maximum item-information method. The combined CAT method resulted in the best overall results compared with the other individual CAT item-selection methods. The findings from the combined CAT are encouraging. Future uses are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)10aalgorithm10acomputerized adaptive testing10aitem exposure rate10ashadow test10avaried target function1 aLi, Y H1 aSchafer, W D  uhttp://mail.iacat.org/content/increasing-homogeneity-cats-item-exposure-rates-minimizing-or-maximizing-varied-target