Test blueprints specifying content constraints for item selection¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 2 studies (1 causal, 1 associational), q2–q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Test blueprints are the mechanism by which achievement testing meets the practical requirement that administered items represent a target content domain. The article states this "is accomplished by establishing test blueprints specifying the content constraints to be followed when selecting the items for a test." Blueprints define the content constraints that item selection must follow, and the article's concern is that disengaged responses can undermine the content representation blueprints are meant to secure.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A defined target content domain that the administered item set is meant to represent

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• students taking achievement tests

Target Learning Goals¶

• accurate measurement of achievement across a target content domain

Claims¶

• Differential rapid guessing often resulted in test events with meaningfully distorted item content representation [+M]
• Disengaged student responses raise the issue of whether engaged responses maintain the intended content representation [+W]
• Differences in test-taking engagement across content categories were primarily due to differences in the reading load of items [+M]
• Pilot test events largely fulfilled updated blueprint requirements, including increased reading passages per test event [+M]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Steven Wise. (2020). The impact of test-taking disengagement on item content representation. Applied Measurement in Education, 33(2), 83-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2020.1732386