The influence of ability level and big five personality traits on examinees' test-taking behaviour in computerised adaptive testing

For the examinees who exhibit test-taking behaviour that is non-effortful, the resulting scores are less valid because they are likely to underestimate what the examinees actually know and can do. Based on previous studies, the present study explored whether there was significant influence of ability level and big five personality traits on test-taking behaviour in the context of computerised adaptive testing (CAT) with binary logistic regression model. 126 items which varied in terms of their discrimination and difficulty constructed item bank of adaptive testing system. Chinese big five personality inventory brief version and CAT were administered to 142 students who majored in educational technology in a university. The results indicated that both ability level and big five personality traits had significant effect on examinees' test-taking behaviour. Further, the big five personality traits had a stronger effect on examinees' test-taking behaviour than ability level. As this study was one of the first to investigate the influence of ability level and big five personality traits on test-taking behaviour in the context of CAT, it provided new insights into the dynamics of test-taking behaviour in CAT.