The Presence-Severity (P-S) format refers to a compound item structure in which a question is first asked to check the presence of the particular event in question. If the respondent provides an affirmative answer, a follow-up is administered, often about the frequency, density, severity, or impact of the event. Despite the popularity of the P-S…

Nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) equating functions that use a single anchor can have accuracy problems when the groups are extremely different and/or when the anchor weakly correlates with the tests being equated. Proposals have been made to address these issues by incorporating more than one anchor into NEAT equating functions. These…

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods enable a fully Bayesian approach to parameter estimation of item response models. In this simulation study, the authors compared the recovery of graded response model parameters using marginal maximum likelihood (MML) and Gibbs sampling (MCMC) under various latent trait distributions, test lengths, and…

This review describes and evaluates a software add-in created by Frontline Systems, Inc., that can be used with Microsoft Excel 2007 to solve large, complex test assembly problems. The combination of Microsoft Excel 2007 with the Frontline Systems Premium Solver Platform is significant because Microsoft Excel is the most commonly used spreadsheet…

Reliability is a property of test scores from individuals who have been sampled from a well-defined population. Reliability indices, such as coefficient and related formulas for internal consistency reliability (KR-20, Hoyt's reliability), yield lower bound reliability estimates when (a) subjects have been sampled from a single population and when…

Figural matrix items are a popular task type for assessing general intelligence (Spearman's g). Items of this kind can be constructed rationally, allowing the implementation of computerized generation algorithms. In this study, the influence of different task parameters on the degree of difficulty in matrix items was investigated. A sample of N =…

Spearman's factor-analytic model has been proposed as a unidimensional linear item response theory (IRT) model for continuous item responses. This article first proposes a reexpression of the model that leads to a form similar to that of standard IRT models for binary responses and discusses the item indices of difficulty discrimination and…

The authors discuss a new method that combines the randomized response technique with item response theory. This method allows the researcher to obtain information at the individual person level without knowing the true responses. With this new method, it is possible to compare groups of individuals by means of analysis of variance or regression…

Computerized adaptive testing is subject to security problems, as the item bank content remains operative over long periods and administration time is flexible for examinees. Spreading the content of a part of the item bank could lead to an overestimation of the examinees' trait level. The most common way of reducing this risk is to impose a…

Individuals routinely rate themselves higher than their peers on a number of attributes and capabilities, including their satisfaction with life. However, the construct validity of this above-average effect requires specific psychometric properties of ratings of one's contentment and ratings of others' perceived contentment. This article tests…

Some of the most commonly used item response theory models for ordered polychotomous data are described using the taxonomy of D. Thissen and L. Steinberg (1986) as a framework. An empirical study found the graded response model and an extension of the partial credit model very similar in a practical application. (SLD)

Issues arising from difference scores with zero reliability that nevertheless allow a powerful test of change are discussed. Issues include the appropriateness of underlying statistical models for psychological data and the relationship between difference scores and power. Increases in reliability always increase power for a fixed effect size.…

A flexible data analysis approach is proposed that combines the psychometric procedures seriation and multidimensional scaling. The method, which is particularly appropriate for analysis of proximities containing temporal information, is illustrated using a matrix of cocitations in publications by 18 presidents of the Psychometric Society.…

Three multitrait-multimethod studies are described, which indicated that ill-defined solutions were frequent, and alternative parameterizations tended only to mask this problem. Moreover, method factors sometimes represented trait variance as opposed to method variance. However, specification of method effects as correlated uniqueness proved more…

In restricted factor analysis, each element of the matrices of factor loadings and correlations and unique variances and covariances can be constrained. It is argued that the practice of constraining some parameters at zero is not psychologically meaningful. Alternative procedures are presented and illustrated. (TJH)