This article is an overview of the National Assessment of Education Quality (NAEQ) of China in reading, mathematics, sciences, arts, physical education, and moral education at Grades 4 and 8. After a review of the background and history of NAEQ, we present the assessment framework with students' holistic development at the core and the design for…

International large-scale assessments of student achievement such as International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Program for International…

In this article, we have suggested a new modified mixed randomized response (RR) model and studied its properties. It is shown that the proposed mixed RR model is always more efficient than the Kim and Warde's mixed RR model. The proposed mixed RR model has also been extended to stratified sampling. Numerical illustrations and graphical…

Growing interest in fully Bayesian item response models begs the question: To what extent can model parameter posterior draws enhance existing practices? One practice that has traditionally relied on model parameter point estimates but may be improved by using posterior draws is the development of a common metric for two independently calibrated…

Birnbaum raised important challenges to testing transitivity. We summarize why an approach based on counting response patterns does not solve these challenges. Foremost, we show why parsimonious tests of transitivity require at least 5 choice alternatives. While the approach of Regenwetter, Dana, and Davis-Stober achieves high power with modest…

The work reported in this paper reflects a collaborative effort of many individuals representing multiple organizations. It began during a session at the October 2008 meeting of TILSA when a representative of a member state asked the group if any of their programs had experienced unexpected fluctuations in the annual state assessment scores, and…

Measurement error is a common theme in classical measurement models used in testing and assessment. In classical measurement models, the definition of measurement error and the subsequent reliability coefficients differ on the basis of the test administration design. Internal consistency reliability specifies error due primarily to poor item…

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is the fifth in a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) secondary longitudinal studies. The core research questions for HSLS:09 explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering,…

The DA-T Gibbs sampler is proposed by Maris and Maris (2002) as a Bayesian estimation method for a wide variety of "Item Response Theory (IRT) models". The present paper provides an expository account of the DA-T Gibbs sampler for the 2PL model. However, the scope is not limited to the 2PL model. It is demonstrated how the DA-T Gibbs…

The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an introduction to Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation for item response models. A brief description of Bayesian inference is followed by an overview of the various facets of MCMC algorithms, including discussion of prior specification, sampling procedures, and methods for evaluating chain…

RESGEN is a computer program designed to generate simulated latent trait distributions and then dichotomous or polytomous item responses based on item response models. The latent trait distributions can be univariate or multivariate normal, log-normal, uniform, or gamma. The item response models utilized in this program may have characteristics…

Test reliability is a concept central to classical test theory and it is commonly stated as a requirement that a test attain a certain level of reliability before it be considered of sufficient quality for practical use. This article discusses the role of reliability in item response theory, and in particular the role of reliability in contexts…

This article shows how set covering with item sampling (SCIS) methods can be used in the analysis and preanalysis of linear programming models for test assembly (LPTA). LPTA models can construct tests, fulfilling a set of constraints set by the test assembler. Sometimes, no solution to the LPTA model exists. The model is then said to be…

Two psychometric models are presented for evaluating the difficulty of the distractors in multiple-choice items. They are based on the criterion of rising distractor selection ratios, which facilitates interpretation of the subject and item parameters. Statistical inferential tools are developed in a Bayesian framework: modal a posteriori…

Research efforts have established that the Mantel-Haenszel procedure (MHP) is an effective method for detecting the presence of test items exhibiting differential item functioning (DIF). While the MHP has been advocated for situations where item response theory based methods may not be usable, recent findings have suggested that the performance of…