Students'Attitude toward and Acceptability of Computerized Adaptive Testing in Medical School and their Effect on the Examinees'Ability

Kim, Mee Young; Huh, Sun

Abstract

An examinee's ability can be evaluated precisely using computerized adaptive testing (CAT), which is shorter than written tests and more efficient in terms of the duration of the examination. We used CAT for the second General Examination of 98 senior students in medical college on November 27, 2004. We prepared 1,050 pre-calibrated test items according to item response theory, which had been used for the General Examination administered to senior students in 2003. The computer was programmed to pose questions until the standard error of the ability estimate was smaller than 0.01. To determine the students' attitude toward and evaluation of CAT, we conducted surveys before and after the examination, via the Web. The mean of the students' ability estimates was 0.3513 and its standard deviation was 0.9097 (range -2.4680 to +2.5310). There was no significant difference in the ability estimates according to the responses of students to items concerning their experience with CAT, their ability to use a computer, or their anxiety before and after the examination (p>0.05). Many students were unhappy that they could not recheck their responses (49%), and some stated that there were too few examination items (24%). Of the students, 79 % had no complaints concerning using a computer and 63% wanted to expand the use of CAT. These results indicate that CAT can be implemented in medical schools without causing difficulties for users.