Assessment Procedures



An assessment method based on information theory, an area that flourished in the 1940's, was part of interactive computer systems at the Rand Corporation. Many Rand publications in the 1970's appeared (see Bibliography), and a mathematician involved in that work showed me touch-screen cathode-ray-tube (CRT) computer displays where an individual could input his/her beliefs about the probable validity of three different completions to a statement.

A UCLA colleague who learned about the method at Rand reintroduced it to me and I began using it in classes in 1989. Adapting it to my main graduate course led to a deeper investigation of the risk (expected loss) model at the heart of the approach. A discussion of that work oriented toward enabling others to use the method for assessment is in a paper presented at Frontiers in Education (FIE) 1997:

Introduction and Figure FIE Paper (postscript) UCLA CS Report