The development of a computer assisted design, analysis and testing system for analysing students’ performance

Recent years have seen increased application of Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) in education at various levels, and a variety of computer software systems have been developed for use in computer-based testing and analysis. However, many existing system are primarily designed to provide objective assessment of students and analysis of test items. The present study presents the development of a Computer Assisted Design, Analysis and Testing System (CADATS) that can be used by primary and secondary schools and other test organisations to undertake computer assisted assessment. The system incorporates an Item Response Theory (IRT) model – the Rasch model to facilitate the administration of IRT – based tests on computers and the analysis of test items and students’ performance using modern test theories. Specifically, the system has been created to design and undertake computer-based tests (CBTs), including the Computer Adaptive Tests (CATs), and to undertake diagnostic analysis on students’ performance at both individual and school levels in order to identify curriculum areas where students are under performing.