Item difficulty and item characteristics in technology tests in the Netherlands

Since 1993 technology is a compulsory subject in the curriculum of the first two years of secondary education in the Netherlands. Cito, Institute for Educational Measurement, is commissioned for the assessment of this curriculum. Pilot surveys in schools are used as a method for development items and tests and provide information for reference data for the tests. In 1999 Cito investigated item difficulty in relation to item characteristics, like subject domain, types of items and required skills of the students. Four subjects, including technology, were involved in the project. In this paper item difficulty is described in relation to item characteristics for the subject technology. The tentative outcomes of the research project show differences between students in relation to the subject domain of the items, the level of structure of the items and the required problem solving strategy of the students.