Achievement test construction using 0-1 linear programming

In educational testing the work of professional test agencies has shown a trend towards item banking. Achievement test construction is viewed as selecting items from a test item bank such that certain specifications are met. As the number of possible tests is large and practice usually imposes various constraints on the selection process, a mathematical programming approach is obvious. In this paper it is shown how to formulate achievement test construction as a 0-1 linear programming problem. A heuristic for solving the problem is proposed and two examples are given. It is concluded that a 0-1 linear programming approach fits the problem of test construction in an appropriate way and offers test agencies the possibility of computerizing their services.