Abstract: Computerized automatic item generation has been gradually recognized as one of the promising techniques to deal with test exposure in recent years. Based on principles of cognitive psychology and psychometrics, items at target difficulty levels can be generated automatically during testing. The present article first introduced its theoretical foundation and popular approaches briefly, and then illustrated how to conduct automatic item generation with one of its approaches-cognitive design system approach. Finally the limits and further development of this technique were discussed

Key words: Computerized automatic item generation, cognitive design system approach, item model approach, construct validity