An Upgrading Procedure for Adaptive Assessment of Knowledge

In knowledge space theory, existing adaptive assessment procedures can only be applied when suitable estimates of their parameters are available. In this paper, an iterative procedure is proposed, which upgrades its parameters with the increasing number of assessments. The first assessments are run using parameter values that favor accuracy over efficiency. Subsequent assessments are run using new parameter values estimated on the incomplete response patterns from previous assessments. Parameter estimation is carried out through a new probabilistic model for missing-at-random data. Two simulation studies show that, with the increasing number of assessments, the performance of the proposed procedure approaches that of gold standards.