An item bank is a term for a repository of

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

items that belong to a testing program, as well as all information pertaining to those items. In most applications of testing and assessment, the items are of

multiple choice Multiple choice (MC), objective response or MCQ (for multiple choice question) is a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are asked to select only correct answers from the choices offered as a list. The multiple choice format is mo ...

format, but any format can be used. Items are pulled from the bank and assigned to test forms for publication either as a paper-and-pencil test or some form of

e-assessment Electronic assessment, also known as digital assessment, e-assessment, online assessment or computer-based assessment, is the use of information technology in assessment such as educational assessment, health assessment, psychiatric assessment, a ...

Types of information

An item bank will not only include the text of each item, but also extensive information regarding test development and

psychometric Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...

characteristics of the items. Examples of such information include:Vale, C.D. (2004). Computerized item banking. In Downing, S.D., & Haladyna, T.M. (Eds.) ''The Handbook of Test Development''. Routledge. * Item

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

* Date written * Item status (e.g., new, pilot, active, retired) * Angoff ratings * Correct answer * Item format *

Classical test theory Classical test theory (CTT) is a body of related psychometric theory that predicts outcomes of psychological testing such as the difficulty of items or the ability of test-takers. It is a theory of testing based on the idea that a person's observe ...

statistics *

Item response theory In psychometrics, item response theory (IRT) (also known as latent trait theory, strong true score theory, or modern mental test theory) is a paradigm for the design, analysis, and scoring of tests, questionnaires, and similar instruments measuring ...

statistics * Linkage to test blueprint * Item history (e.g., usage date(s) and reviews) * User-defined fields

Item banking software

Because an item bank is essentially a simple

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...

, it can be stored in database software or even a spreadsheet such as

Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for App ...

. However, there are several dozen commercially-available

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

programs specifically designed for item banking. The advantages that these provide are related to assessment. For example, items are presented on the computer screen as they would appear to a test examinee, and item response theory parameters can be translated into item response functions or information functions. Additionally, there are functionalities for publication, such as formatting a set of items to be printed as a paper-and-pencil test. Some item banks also have test administration functionalities, such as being able to deliver

or process "bubble" answer sheets.

References

{{Reflist School examinations Standardized tests Psychometrics