Wednesday, March 04, 2015, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM (PST)

Using Secure Item and Test Designs to Protect Your Tests

Practice Area Division(s): Certification/Licensure, Industrial/Organizational, Education, Clinical
Topic: Testing, Measurement, and Psychometrics

The current testing environment is characterized by relentless attacks on our tests from all directions. Test items are stolen, shared, and sold at lightening speeds through Internet and social media channels. Individual test takers find ways to thwart the testing environment through hard-to detect technology-based communication devices. Those proctoring the exams either turn their heads or assist in the capture of test content. It is critical that we use every tool at our disposal to blunt the effectiveness of these cheaters and test thieves.

This session will present a number of secure item and test design features; some new, some not-so-new, that can be used in today’s technology-based testing world to enhance the security of high-stakes exams. Using a risk analysis model, we will target the most dangerous types of test threats, and show how we can design items and tests as a realistic defense to the relentless attacks on our exams. Brief demonstrations of innovative designs will illustrate the security principles. Research will be presented to support these principles. Suggestions for when and how to practically implement those innovations will be provided and discussed with the attendees.

PRESENTERS:
Jamie Mulkey, Caveon Test Security
David Foster, Caveon Test Security
Steve Ferrara, Pearson School