This article outlines the main benefits of adaptive testing and provides a comparison of features between adaptive and 'linear' tests.
The following topics are covered in this article:
Reduced administrative work
There is no need to choose a test level, or form, when using PAT Adaptive. Students' entry testlets – the first block of items the student sees – are automatically assigned according to their estimated abilities. If a student previously completed a PAT test in the same learning area within the preceding two years, that scale score is used to determine a suitably difficult starting point. Alternatively, their entry point is assigned according to their year level, with the rest of the test further adapting to their actual abilities.
Greater accuracy
Computer adaptive assessments, such as PAT Maths Adaptive and PAT Reading Adaptive, use students’ responses to actively determine the content as they progress through the test, resulting in personalised pathways. The result is a more engaging testing experience that produces a highly detailed picture of achievement, enabling you to more precisely diagnose student needs and target teaching where it is needed most.
For an assessment to produce valuable information about students’ abilities, it needs to be appropriately targeted to uncover what students can do and understand, as well as what they cannot yet do and understand.
So, when a student responds correctly to approximately 50% of questions, the test is well targeted and provides the maximum information about the skills a student is demonstrating, and those they are still developing.
In conventional, linear, assessments, all students in a group respond to a test form containing the same items. Differences in students’ abilities mean that those shared items are likely to be suitably challenging for some students, but too easy or too difficult for others.
Tests that are too easy or too difficult may reduce student engagement and fail to identify what students can do, or to highlight areas of need. For example, if a student responds correctly to all of their test items, their achievement estimate - expressed as a scale score - is likely to be inflated.
Adaptive vs linear test comparison table
| PAT Adaptive | PAT 'linear' (Maths 4th Ed. and Reading 5th Ed.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Year levels | Suitable for students in Years 1–10. | |
| Content | Items aligned to the Australian Curriculum, Victorian Curriculum and New South Wales Syllabus. | |
| Strand processes added as new organising feature of reports. | ||
| Test assign | Entry levels are automatically assigned according to each student's previous scale score or their current year level. | Test levels are assigned by teachers or administrators using past results and the educators' professional judgement. To do so, it is recommended that teachers preview and become familiar with the content of the tests. |
| Test structure | Each student sees their own mix of test items as they progress through one of dozens of available testing pathways. | All students in a group respond to the same test items according to which of the ten test forms they were assigned. |
| In-test navigation | Students may skip items and return to answer them or change their answer to any item before submitting their tests. | |
| Results | Reported on the shared PAT Reading scale. | |
| Engage with data immediately within a single interface using the ACER Data Explorer | Choose from a selection of reports and generate each separately. | |
| Strengths | Tests adapt to target students' ability levels, providing increased confidence in the accuracy of the results and their use for diagnostic purposes. | Teachers may directly compare the performance of a group of students on a shared set of test items. |
| Limitations | Comparisons of students' performance based on shared test content is more difficult. | Linear tests may not accurately identify the points of need for high or low performing students. |