Goethe University: International conference discusses new approaches to computerized adaptive testing

Tests that adapt to the individual being interviewed are increasingly possible with the help of artificial intelligence. This “adaptive testing” of human characteristics such as intelligence or reading skills is the focus of a conference that will take place from Tuesday, September 20th to Thursday, September 22nd on the Westend campus of the Goethe University in Frankfurt.

The “Conference of the International Association for Computerized Adaptive Testing – IACAT”, which is now taking place in Frankfurt in its eighth edition after conference venues such as Sydney, Princeton, Cambridge and Minneapolis, invites leading experts from all over the world to join the discussion.

The methods of artificial intelligence (AI) open up new possibilities in many areas of life. In the form of computerized adaptive testing (CAT), it also plays an increasing role in measuring human characteristics such as the reading skills of children and young people, intelligence, job-related aspects or characteristics of physical, mental and social health. With CAT, the questions asked are dynamically adapted to the individual being examined. This makes it possible to determine the individual characteristics of interest in a very differentiated manner in a short time.

Around 150 guests from 29 countries are expected at the Frankfurt conference. The IACAT Early Career Researcher Award is also presented to recognize outstanding achievements in this young academic field. It goes to Professor Miguel A. Sorrel from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 2022 for his research on adaptive testing. The symposium on the future of PISA, organized by representatives of the OECD, will be of great general interest; on the afternoon of September 21, the focus will be on the possibilities of adaptively redesigning this large international comparative study of education.