IBE TEST PLATFORM (PT IBE) - NEW APPROACH TO PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL TESTS

In 2011 Educational Research Institute (IBE) ordered the construction of Test of Knowledge and Competences (TOKAC) with computerized adaptive testing (CAT) algorithm applied and Test of Working Memory Capabilities (TOWMC) based on classical test theory (CTT). The tests were designed for children starting primary school (children 6 and 7 years old). The pilot study and standardization of tools have been also carried out on the target age group. Both tests were created as applications for the Android system.

In 2014 IBE has ordered the modernization of both applications – TOKAC and TOWMC. The modernization had two objectives :
• primary - to facilitate the use of tests for individual users or small institutional users who do not have their own technical support;
• secondary – software modification so applications could work on a variety of hardware configurations.

As a result of the modernization following products were created:
• IBE Test Platform – application which can perform sets of tasks based on CTT and probabilistic test theory;
• Test of Knowledge and Competences - a set of tasks supported in PT IBE standard;
• Test of Working Memory Capabilities - a set of task supported in PT IBE standard (in progress).

Currently PT IBE is a free application available on Google Play. It was designed to perform psychological and educational test as well as generate the reports of the tests. The application can handle the sets of tasks presented as a linear list, however PT IBE also enables the use of CAT algorithm which is its main advantage. CAT selects tasks dynamically. Algorithm choice is dependent on the actual outcome of the tested person.

PT IBE supports both automatic evaluation of tasks as well as those validated manually by the person conducting the study. This allows the design of open tasks that may require for example oral replay or drawing. The application also automatically sends the anonymized results to the authors of tests. Such functionality allows to quickly update current norms or easy re-calibration of the tests. It is recommended to use PT IBE on the tablets with at least 10 inch screens.