ATP ATP Test Security & Integrity 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'item harvesting'?
- The process of selecting items for a test form
- Collecting and sharing live test items without authorization, often for commercial gain (Correct answer)
- Retiring items after overexposure
- Sorting items by cognitive level for test blueprinting
Correct answer: Collecting and sharing live test items without authorization, often for commercial gain
Item harvesting involves the unauthorized collection and dissemination of live test items, typically to sell to examinees preparing for the test.
Question 2: What security advantage does computer-based testing (CBT) offer over paper-based testing?
- CBT always has better graphics
- CBT allows randomized item delivery and large item pools to reduce the impact of item sharing (Correct answer)
- CBT requires no item writing
- CBT is cheaper to develop
Correct answer: CBT allows randomized item delivery and large item pools to reduce the impact of item sharing
CBT allows for item randomization, adaptive testing, and varied item pools, which reduces the effectiveness of memorized item lists and brain dumps.
Question 3: How does cheating threaten 'score validity'?
- It affects item difficulty parameters
- It undermines the accuracy of scores as measures of the intended construct (Correct answer)
- It increases the financial cost of test administration
- It slows down examinees' test-taking speed
Correct answer: It undermines the accuracy of scores as measures of the intended construct
Cheating threatens score validity because inflated or fraudulent scores no longer accurately represent examinees' true knowledge or ability.
Question 4: What is an 'irregularity report' in test administration?
- A report on items with unusual difficulty statistics
- Documentation of any deviation from standard testing procedures during an administration (Correct answer)
- A notification that a test form has expired
- A list of examinees who requested accommodations
Correct answer: Documentation of any deviation from standard testing procedures during an administration
An irregularity report documents any deviation from standardized testing procedures, such as disruptions, security incidents, or examinee misconduct.
Question 5: What obligations govern 'test content confidentiality' in professional testing organizations?
- The examinee's personal privacy rights only
- Professional codes of conduct, legal agreements, and copyright law (Correct answer)
- The testing center's rental contract
- The examinee's score report
Correct answer: Professional codes of conduct, legal agreements, and copyright law
Testing organizations are obligated to maintain test content confidentiality through professional codes, licensing agreements, and copyright protections.
Question 6: What is computer adaptive testing (CAT) and its primary security benefit?
- A test that adapts to lighting conditions in the testing room
- A computer-administered test that selects items based on examinee ability, using a large item pool to reduce item sharing (Correct answer)
- A paper test adapted for different languages
- A test that changes based on time of day
Correct answer: A computer-administered test that selects items based on examinee ability, using a large item pool to reduce item sharing
CAT selects items from a large bank based on examinee responses, making it harder to share a fixed set of items since each examinee's test is unique.
ATP ATP Test Security & Integrity 2
What is 'item harvesting'?