How does grading a confidence-based test (CBT) work?

Larry Michaelsen’s confidence based testing method is an interesting approach to use on IRAT activities. But sometimes there can be a bit of confusion between grading points and confidence based points.Below I’ll try to quickly answer a relevant question from one professor which was originally the following: 

” I was given the option of setting a point value for the questions on the iRAT, and I chose 5 points each (because that meant that the total was a nice round number). However, when learners took the actual quiz and did point spreading it only gave them 4 points to use. I’m not really clear how grades are then calculated if, for example, a learner put 2 points on the right answer. Do they get 2 points? Or do they get 50% of 5 (2.5 points)?”

In essence, the points to be allocated are not mutually tied to the points set as the grading criteria. The confidence-based points are just an answer selection tool, and the points available are tied to the number of answers available in that specific question.

So a question with 4 answers will give the learners 4 points to allocate. Here 2 confidence points will equal 2.5 points in the grading scale, and the answer will reflect a 50% confidence level. So, 1 point will reflect a 1.25 or 25% confidence level, and so on.

If your question only has 2 answers, then the learners will only have 2 points to allocate, and the process is replicated.