Abstract:
The two main puproses of this study were to study a computer program for content-based adaptive testing of a domain-referenced test and to evaluate its quality and efficiency. Of 2,404 first-year students studying Foundation English II at Chulalongkorn University in 1992, 360 were randomly selected and used as subjects. They were divided into 2 groups of 180. The first group was assigned to take a 105-item domain-referenced test by means of a conventional testing procedure and the other by computerized content-based testing. The test for the second procedure was a 5-domain pyramidal adaptive test. Each domain consisted of 21 items which were arranged into 5 steps. The results of the tests were compared in various aspects by using z-tests and t-tests. It was found that the written program worked satisfactorily and the computerized content-based adaptive test was of higher quality and more efficient than the conventional test. The former had higher predictive validity and equal dependability, required 50% less test items and had less measurement error. It also required less testing time, approximately three times less than the latter. Furthermore, it gave the testees a more positive attitude towards testing.