With the exponential increase of digital assessment, different types of data in addition to item responses become available in the measurement process. One of the salient features in digital assessment is that process data can be easily collected. This non-conventional structured or unstructured data source may bring new perspectives to better understand the assessment products or accuracy and the process how an item product was attained. The analysis of the conventional and non-conventional assessment data calls for more methodology other than the latent trait modeling. Natural language processing (NLP) methods and machine learning algorithms have been successfully applied in automated scoring. It has been explored in providing diagnostic feedback to test-takers in writing assessment. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been explored for cheating detection and cognitive diagnosis. When the measurement field promote the use of assessment data to provide feedback to improve teaching and learning, it is the right time to explore new methodology and explore the value added from other data sources. This book presents the use cases of machine learning and NLP in improving the assessment theory and practices in high-stakes summative assessment, learning, and instruction. More specifically, experts from the field addressed the topics related to automated item generations, automated scoring, automated feedback in writing, explainability of automated scoring, equating, cheating and alarming response detection, adaptive testing, and applications in science assessment. This book demonstrates the utility of machine learning and NLP in assessment design and psychometric analysis.

The general theme of this book is to present the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in test development. In particular, this book includes research and successful examples of using AI technology in automated item generation, automated test assembly, automated scoring, and computerized adaptive testing. By utilizing artificial intelligence, the efficiency of item development, test form construction, test delivery, and scoring could be dramatically increased. Chapters on automated item generation offer different perspectives related to generating a large number of items with controlled psychometric properties including the latest development of using machine learning methods. Automated scoring is illustrated for different types of assessments such as speaking and writing from both methodological aspects and practical considerations. Further, automated test assembly is elaborated for the conventional linear tests from both classical test theory and item response theory perspectives. Item pool design and assembly for the linear-on-the-fly tests elaborates more complications in practice when test security is a big concern. Finally, several chapters focus on computerized adaptive testing (CAT) at either item or module levels. CAT is further illustrated as an effective approach to increasing test-takers’ engagement in testing. In summary, the book includes both theoretical, methodological, and applied research and practices that serve as the foundation for future development. These chapters provide illustrations of efforts to automate the process of test development. While some of these automation processes have become common practices such as automated test assembly, automated scoring, and computerized adaptive testing, some others such as automated item generation calls for more research and exploration. When new AI methods are emerging and evolving, it is expected that researchers can expand and improve the methods for automating different steps in test development to enhance the automation features and practitioners can adopt quality automation procedures to improve assessment practices.

The general theme of this book is to encourage the use of relevant methodology in data mining which is or could be applied to the interplay of education, statistics and computer science to solve psychometric issues and challenges in the new generation of assessments. In addition to item response data, other data collected in the process of assessment and learning will be utilized to help solve psychometric challenges and facilitate learning and other educational applications. Process data include those collected or available for collection during the process of assessment and instructional phase such as responding sequence data, log files, the use of help features, the content of web searches, etc. Some book chapters present the general exploration of process data in large-scale assessment. Further, other chapters also address how to integrate psychometrics and learning analytics in assessment and survey, how to use data mining techniques for security and cheating detection, how to use more assessment results to facilitate student’s learning and guide teacher’s instructional efforts. The book includes both theoretical and methodological presentations that might guide the future in this area, as well as illustrations of efforts to implement big data analytics that might be instructive to those in the field of learning and psychometrics. The context of the effort is diverse, including K-12, higher education, financial planning, and survey utilization. It is hoped that readers can learn from different disciplines, especially those who are specialized in assessment, would be critical to expand the ideas of what we can do with data analytics for informing assessment practices.

The Routledge International Handbook of Automated Essay Evaluation (AEE) is a definitive guide at the intersection of automation, artificial intelligence, and education. This volume encapsulates the ongoing advancement of AEE, reflecting its application in both large-scale and classroom-based assessments to support teaching and learning endeavors. It presents a comprehensive overview of AEE's current applications, including its extension into reading, speech, mathematics, and writing research; modern automated feedback systems; critical issues in automated evaluation such as psychometrics, fairness, bias, transparency, and validity; and the technological innovations that fuel current and future developments in this field. As AEE approaches a tipping point of global implementation, this Handbook stands as an essential resource, advocating for the conscientious adoption of AEE tools to enhance educational practices ethically. The Handbook will benefit readers by equipping them with the knowledge to thoughtfully integrate AEE, thereby enriching educational assessment, teaching, and learning worldwide. Aimed at researchers, educators, AEE developers, and policymakers, the Handbook is poised not only to chart the current landscape but also to stimulate scholarly discourse, define and inform best practices, and propel and guide future innovations.

Advancing Natural Language Processing in Educational Assessment examines the use of natural language technology in educational testing, measurement, and assessment. Recent developments in natural language processing (NLP) have enabled large-scale educational applications, though scholars and professionals may lack a shared understanding of the strengths and limitations of NLP in assessment as well as the challenges that testing organizations face in implementation. This first-of-its-kind book provides evidence-based practices for the use of NLP-based approaches to automated text and speech scoring, language proficiency assessment, technology-assisted item generation, gamification, learner feedback, and beyond. Spanning historical context, validity and fairness issues, emerging technologies, and implications for feedback and personalization, these chapters represent the most robust treatment yet about NLP for education measurement researchers, psychometricians, testing professionals, and policymakers. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book defines and describes a new discipline, named “computational psychometrics,” from the perspective of new methodologies for handling complex data from digital learning and assessment. The editors and the contributing authors discuss how new technology drastically increases the possibilities for the design and administration of learning and assessment systems, and how doing so significantly increases the variety, velocity, and volume of the resulting data. Then they introduce methods and strategies to address the new challenges, ranging from evidence identification and data modeling to the assessment and prediction of learners’ performance in complex settings, as in collaborative tasks, game/simulation-based tasks, and multimodal learning and assessment tasks. Computational psychometrics has thus been defined as a blend of theory-based psychometrics and data-driven approaches from machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science. All these together provide a better methodological framework for analysing complex data from digital learning and assessments. The term “computational” has been widely adopted by many other areas, as with computational statistics, computational linguistics, and computational economics. In those contexts, “computational” has a meaning similar to the one proposed in this book: a data-driven and algorithm-focused perspective on foundations and theoretical approaches established previously, now extended and, when necessary, reconceived. This interdisciplinarity is already a proven success in many disciplines, from personalized medicine that uses computational statistics to personalized learning that uses, well, computational psychometrics. We expect that this volume will be of interest not just within but beyond the psychometric community. In this volume, experts in psychometrics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science and natural language processing illustrate their work, showing how the interdisciplinary expertise of each researcher blends into a coherent methodological framework to deal with complex data from complex virtual interfaces. In the chapters focusing on methodologies, the authors use real data examples to demonstrate how to implement the new methods in practice. The corresponding programming codes in R and Python have been included as snippets in the book and are also available in fuller form in the GitHub code repository that accompanies the book.