Predicting student performance in international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) is crucial for understanding educational outcomes on a global scale. ILSAs, such as the Program for International Student Assessment and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, serve as vital tools for policymakers, educators, and researchers to…

Assessing achievement is a complex task due to its dependence on multiple factors and the hierarchical structure of educational data, yet surveys like TIMSS offer valuable insights into its determining factors like students' mathematics anxiety. However, disregarding the nested structure of data and ignoring the assumptions of models causes poor…

Multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models have generated increasing interest in the psychometrics literature. Efficient approaches for estimating MIRT models with dichotomous responses have been developed, but constructing an equally efficient and robust algorithm for polytomous models has received limited attention. To address this gap,…