Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T07:50:01.561Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A computer adaptive testing approach for assessing physical functioning in children and adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2005

Stephen M Haley
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Franciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, USA.
Pengsheng Ni
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Franciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, USA.
Maria A Fragala-Pinkham
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Franciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, USA.
Alison M Skrinar
Affiliation:
Clinical Research, Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Deyanira Corzo
Affiliation:
Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Get access

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate: (1) the accuracy and (2) the reduction in amount of time and effort in assessing physical functioning (self-care and mobility domains) of children and adolescents using computer-adaptive testing (CAT). A CAT algorithm selects questions directly tailored to the child's ability level, based on previous responses. Using a CAT algorithm, a simulation study was used to determine the number of items necessary to approximate the score of a full-length assessment. We built simulated CAT (5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-item versions) for self-care and mobility domains and tested their accuracy in a normative sample (n=373; 190 males, 183 females; mean age 6y 11mo [SD 4y 2m], range 4mo to 14y 11mo) and a sample of children and adolescents with Pompe disease (n=26; 21 males, 5 females; mean age 6y 1mo [SD 3y 10mo], range 5mo to 14y 10mo). Results indicated that comparable score estimates (based on computer simulations) to the full-length tests can be achieved in a 20-item CAT version for all age ranges and for normative and clinical samples. No more than 13 to 16% of the items in the full-length tests were needed for any one administration. These results support further consideration of using CAT programs for accurate and efficient clinical assessments of physical functioning.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
© 2005 Mac Keith Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)