%0 Journal Article %J Applied Psychological Measurement %D 2003 %T Computerized adaptive testing using the nearest-neighbors criterion %A Cheng, P. E. %A Liou, M. %K (Statistical) %K Adaptive Testing %K Computer Assisted Testing %K Item Analysis %K Item Response Theory %K Statistical Analysis %K Statistical Estimation computerized adaptive testing %K Statistical Tests %X Item selection procedures designed for computerized adaptive testing need to accurately estimate every taker's trait level (θ) and, at the same time, effectively use all items in a bank. Empirical studies showed that classical item selection procedures based on maximizing Fisher or other related information yielded highly varied item exposure rates; with these procedures, some items were frequently used whereas others were rarely selected. In the literature, methods have been proposed for controlling exposure rates; they tend to affect the accuracy in θ estimates, however. A modified version of the maximum Fisher information (MFI) criterion, coined the nearest neighbors (NN) criterion, is proposed in this study. The NN procedure improves to a moderate extent the undesirable item exposure rates associated with the MFI criterion and keeps sufficient precision in estimates. The NN criterion will be compared with a few other existing methods in an empirical study using the mean squared errors in θ estimates and plots of item exposure rates associated with different distributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA ) (journal abstract) %B Applied Psychological Measurement %V 27 %P 204-216 %G eng