There are few books on computer-assisted assessment (CAA) and even fewer that try to provide an overview of the theory and practice of the subject. This book is not a dry academic text on CAA. It's divided into two parts. The first part covers the theory (objective testing, writing questions etc.) and second part deals with implementation issues (CAA technologies, operational issues etc.). So the book provides an ideal introduction to the field for those who are new to it. It's apparent that the authors have practical experience of CAA since the book has a lot of common sense advice (such as an alternative way to measure a question's discrimination rather than the usual statistical measure - which is meaningless to most people).
The price per page ratio is not good. The book is expensive for its size (145 pages). And (inevitably) it's a little out of date (for example, there's very little on item banking). More seriously, because of its small size, the treatment of some topics is light (such as the initial discussion on the theory of assessment).
But (in spite of its price) it's a good, easy to read, introduction to this emerging and important area of education. Recommended.
