In order to ensure content validity by covering a broad range of content domains, the testing times of some educational large-scale assessments last up to a total of two hours or more. Performance decline over the course of taking the test has been extensively documented in the literature. It can occur due to increases in the numbers of: (a)…

Many important high-stakes decisions--college admission, academic performance evaluation, and even job promotion--depend on accurate and reliable scores from valid large-scale assessments. However, examinees sometimes cheat by copying answers from other test-takers or practicing with test items ahead of time, which can undermine the effectiveness…

Game-based assessment (GBA) is a specific use of educational games that employs game activities to elicit evidence for educationally valuable skills and knowledge. While this approach can provide individualized and diagnostic information about students, the design and development of assessment mechanics for a GBA is a nontrivial task. In this…

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been proposed as a promising approach for the classification of students into different levels of a psychological attribute hierarchy. Unfortunately, because such classifications typically rely upon internally produced item response patterns that have not been externally validated, the instability of ANN…

The omega (?) statistic is reputed to be one of the best indices for detecting answer copying on multiple choice tests, but its performance relies on the accurate estimation of copier ability, which is challenging because responses from the copiers may have been contaminated. We propose an algorithm that aims to identify and delete the suspected…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is important in terms of test fairness. While DIF analyses have mainly been conducted with manifest grouping variables, such as gender or race/ethnicity, it has been recently claimed that not only the grouping variables but also contextual variables pertaining to examinees should be considered in DIF…

Differential item functioning (DIF) assessment is key in score validation. When DIF is present scores may not accurately reflect the construct of interest for some groups of examinees, leading to incorrect conclusions from the scores. Given rising immigration, and the increased reliance of educational policymakers on cross-national assessments…

Differential bundle functioning (DBF) analyses were conducted to determine whether seventh and eighth grade second language learners (SLLs) had lower probabilities of answering bundles of math word problems correctly that had heavy language demands, when compared to non-SLLs of equal math proficiency. Math word problems on each of four test forms…

The purpose of this article is to explore crossing differential item functioning (DIF) in a test drawn from a national examination of mathematics for 11-year-old pupils in England. An empirical dataset was analyzed to explore DIF by gender in a mathematics assessment. A two-step process involving the logistic regression (LR) procedure for…

Personnel selection shows an enduring need for short stand-alone tests consisting of, say, 5 to 15 items. Despite their efficiency, short tests are more vulnerable to measurement error than longer test versions. Consequently, the question arises to what extent reducing test length deteriorates decision quality due to increased impact of…

The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method in an operational diagnostic mathematics program at Grades 3 and 6 to promote cognitive inferences about students' problem-solving skills. The attribute hierarchy method is a psychometric procedure for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of structured attribute…

Differential gender performance in standardized mathematics assessment has long been a heated topic. Gender gaps of varied magnitude have been identified on large-scale assessments in the United States. To continue the investigation, this study examined male and female performance on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a statistical technique used for ensuring the equity and fairness of educational assessments. This study formulates a new DIF analysis method using the information similarity index (ISI). ISI compares item information functions when data fits the Rasch model. Through simulations and an international…

Integrity[TM], an online application for testing both the statistical integrity of the test and the academic integrity of the examinees, was evaluated for this review. Program features and the program output are described. An overview of the statistics in Integrity[TM] is provided, and the application is illustrated with a small simulation study.…