Setting Other Constraints

1. Click Add to add a constraint. The Add\Edit Other Constraint window appears.

2. Select the type of constraint and click Next. Enter a descriptive name for the constraint, for example, Choice Interaction Type and Grade 3. Set the constraint as described in the following sections:

   • Setting an Item Attribute Constraint

   • Setting a Max Consecutive Same-Value Attribute Constraint

   • Setting a Stimulus Attribute Constraint

   • Setting a Stimulus Item Count Constraint

   • Setting a Multi-Form Overlap Constraint

   • Setting a Multi-Form Blueprint Coverage Constraint

3. When you’ve finished setting up your constraint, click Save. The Add\Edit Other Constraint window closes and the new constraint appears in the table.

You can edit or delete the constraint by selecting the radio button in the rightmost column of the table and clicking Edit or Delete. You can disable the constraint by clearing the checkbox in the Enabled column.

Repeat these steps as needed.

Setting an Item Attribute Constraint

An Item Attribute Constraint limits the number of items on the form that meet certain criteria.

1. Create the constraint logic using the controls in the Item Attributes section. For example, you can specify that the constraint applies to items for which IAT Interaction Type equals choiceInteraction AND Grade equals 3. For help creating constraint logic, refer to Creating Constraint Logic.

2. Optional: Clear the Is Strict Constraint checkbox to indicate that the constraint need not necessarily be met.

3. From the Base dropdown list, select a base.

   As an example, if you select Point Based for a constraint on Grade equaling 3, then each item with a Grade of 3 contributes to the constraint based on its maximum number of points, with a 3-point item weighted by three and a 1-point item by one. But if you select Item Based, Grade of 3 contributes based on the number of items, with a 3-point and a 1-point item having the same weight.

   Other options automatically set the Value dropdown list below to Average. For example, the PValue option constrains the average p value to fall within the minimum and maximum values set below.

4. If necessary, from the Value dropdown list, select a value. This will determine what the minimum and maximum values mean, below.

5. Set the minimum and maximum value of items/points that must meet the criteria created in the Item Attributes section.

   For example, if you selected Item Based and Raw Value, you can specify that only up to three items may meet these criteria, with a minimum of zero (that is, no minimum). Or if you selected Point Based and Percent Value, you can specify that the criteria must be met for 50–90% of earnable points. Likewise, if you selected PValue (and Average), you can specify that the average p value of the items meeting these criteria must be 1–5.

Setting a Max Consecutive Same-Value Attribute Constraint

A Max Consecutive Same-Value Attribute Constraint limits the number of consecutive items on the form that can have the same attribute value. The consecutive items may appear anywhere on the form.

For example, you may want to prevent a form from containing more than three consecutive multiple-choice items that all have the same correct answer. If the items contain up to four options each, you will need to create a constraint for each possible answer key, that is, one with the Answer Key attribute equaling A, one with the same attribute equaling B, one for C, and one for D.

1. Create the constraint logic using the controls in the Item Attributes section. In the example described above, you would select Answer Key, equal, and A, and leave the NOT checkbox cleared. After saving the constraint, you would proceed to create constraints for the B, C, and D answer keys. For help creating constraint logic, refer to Creating Constraint Logic.

2. Enter a number in the Max Consecutive Items field. This is the maximum number of consecutive items on the form that match the constraint logic. For example, you can enter 3 to allow up to three such items in a row.

Setting a Stimulus Attribute Constraint

A Stimulus Attribute Constraint limits the number of passages on the form that meet certain criteria.

Follow the instructions in Setting an Item Attribute Constraint. The only difference is that you will not be selecting base or value.

Setting a Stimulus Item Count Constraint

A Stimulus Item Count Constraint limits the number of items belonging to any one passage that are aligned to the same standard.

1. From the Specify Blueprint Level dropdown list, select the level of the standards in the hierarchy. For example, 1 represents top-level standards.

2. Set a minimum and maximum number of items that can be aligned to the same standard.

3. Optional: Create constraint logic to determine which stimuli and items the constraint will apply to. For example, you could apply the constraint only to passages for which Braille equals BRF and only to items that have a minimum score of 0. For help creating constraint logic, refer to Creating Constraint Logic.

Setting a Multi-Form Overlap Constraint

A Multi-Form Overlap Constraint limits how many items on the form can overlap with the items of other forms.

1. Enter or select the minimum and maximum number of items that can overlap.

2. Click in the Forms field and/or Workspaces field, then make selections from the dropdown lists that appear. Repeat to add multiple forms and/or workspace blocks. Note that you must add at least one form or workspace block.

Setting a Multi-Form Blueprint Coverage Constraint

A Multi-Form Blueprint Coverage Constraint ensures that all standards that are active on the test are accounted for among a set of forms.

1. Select a standard level. For example, 1 represents top-level standards.

2. Click in the Forms field and/or Workspaces field, then make selections from the dropdown lists that appear. Repeat to add multiple forms and/or workspace blocks. Note that you must add at least one form or workspace block.

Creating Constraint Logic

Some other constraints require you to create potentially complex constraint logic. This means creating one or more groups of one or more rules, all under a single top-level group, with each group governed by AND, OR, and/or NOT operators. Each rule consists of a statement about an item or stimulus, for example, that Depth of Knowledge equals 1.

This section describes how to create item attribute constraint logic; the process is very similar when creating logic for stimulus attribute constraints or stimulus item count constraints.

The top-level group is created for you and contains a single blank rule.

• Set each rule to specify what kinds of entities you want the rule to apply to. For example, from the first (attribute) dropdown list, select Difficulty. From the second (operator) dropdown list, select equal. From the third (value) dropdown list, select 2. This rule applies to items that have a Difficulty of 2.

  • Different attributes are available for items and stimuli.

  • The operators available vary depending on the attributes. Common operators are equal, not equal, more, less, begins with, ends with, is empty, and is not empty. Those last two do not take values, so no value field or dropdown list will appear.

• You can select NOT for the group in order to ban all entities that match the rules.

• To add a new rule after the existing ones, click Add rule. When you have multiple rules, the top-level group’s AND and OR buttons become active.

• To set the logic that governs multiple rules in a group, select either AND or OR.

• To add a new group of rules below an existing group, click Add group to the right of the parent group’s header.

• To move a rule or group to a different location in the hierarchy, click and drag the handle with the up and down arrows . This handle is located to the left of each rule and to the right of each group’s header.

• To delete a rule or group, click Delete beside it.