Partal assessment design system for educational testing

Abstract

A Portal Assessment Design System includes a system for designing assessment models and assessments (e.g., standardized tests). In assessment design, specifications are organized around three basic elements: 1) what knowledge, skill or abilities are important to measure; 2) what is necessary evidence of that knowledge, skill or ability; 3) what performance situations are needed to elicit the required evidence from students and other assessment users. The system includes three modules (i.e., Domain Analysis, Domain Modeling, Conceptual Assessment Framework), each of which targets a specific phase of the design process, for designing an assessment in accordance with the three basic elements. The sequence of modules represents the structure of a design process that helps assessment developers work through successive stages or phases of assessment design, from the gathering of raw information to the creation of a complete set of specifications for an assessment product. Each module has its own set of objects for organizing information, such as knowledge skills and abilities of interest of the students being tested, evidence of these, and situations structured to elicit this evidence. The modules and objects of the system are implemented as a software application executing in a client-server environment.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of designing an assessment that divides the assessment design process into a plurality of phases, and each of the phases includes objects for organizing information associated with one or more phases.  
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of phases includes domain analysis, domain modeling, and conceptual assessment framework.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the objects include properties associated with a specific kind of assessment design information and a particular phase of the assessment design process.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method is an evidence-centered assessment design process.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the design process supports reuse of design components for other products and other purposes.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the process supports model building.  
     
     
         7 . A computer system for designing an assessment through a plurality of modules associated with different phases of an assessment design process, the modules utilizing objects for organizing information associated with one or more phases.  
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of phases includes domain analysis, domain modeling, and conceptual assessment framework.  
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein one or more of the objects include properties associated with a specific kind of assessment design information and a particular phase of the assessment design process.  
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the assessment design process is an evidence-centered assessment design process.  
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the process supports model building, storage, retrieval, and export capabilities.