On the Number of Items in Testing Mastery of Learning Objectives

Abstract

In individualized learning trajectories, it could be valuable to administer small tests that focus on a specific learning outcome to determine mastery of the learning objective and to evaluate whether a student can progress to other learning objectives. For this type of application, testing time competes with direct learning time, and a large number of learning objectives could invoke a potentially large burden due to testing. Thus, it is effective to limit the number of items and to reduce testing time as much as possible. However, the number of items is directly related to the accuracy of the mastery decision and the applicability of this type of formative evaluation in practical situations. For the formative evaluation to result in valid inferences, general measurement principles are valuable as well (Bennett in Assess Educ Principles Policy Pract 18:5–25, 2011). In this chapter, we provide techniques to determine the number of items and corresponding cut scores that are necessary to decide on mastery. We apply these techniques in situations with different item characteristics and provide the outcomes for varying test situations, illustrated using a practical example.