Equating

The term equating refers to a statistical process used to establish comparable scores on alternate test forms built to the same test specifications. A test form is a collection of items or tasks intended [Page 594]to measure examinees’ performance on a set of predefined domains of a test. Most large-scale testing programs have multiple alternate test forms, each of which is developed according to the same specifications. These forms are administered at different times so that test users have some flexibility in selecting a test date. Such flexibility, however, requires that reported scores on the alternate forms administered at different dates be comparable and should not offer (dis)advantages to examinees depending on which date they took the test.

Alternate forms of a test are typically constructed ...