This approach shares a lot of the advantages and disadvantages of computer-assisted testing. The only advantage of this approach beyond those of computer-assisted testing is that of efficiency in that a student needs to react to significantly fewer items to reach a score with a given level of dependability.

From the time when we cannot manage the testing environment in distance education, such a benefit would be controversial because trustworthiness is not guaranteed.  

This approach is in general not convenient for a characteristic distance education setting. In order to employ computerized adaptive tests, item response theoretic techniques must be used to analyze the items in the item pool, and examinee scores are estimated throughout an optimization algorithm. To complete these tasks, large samples of subjects and items are considered necessary primarily to standardize the items.

Dependent upon the precise mathematical model employed, the number of subjects necessary for the initial calibration during the enlargement of an item pool for a single subject ranges from 200 to 1,000.