When practitioners use modern measurement models to evaluate rating quality, they commonly examine rater fit statistics that summarize how well each rater's ratings fit the expectations of the measurement model. Essentially, this approach involves examining the unexpected ratings that each misfitting rater assigned (i.e., carrying out analyses of…

Lord's Wald test for differential item functioning (DIF) has not been studied extensively in the context of the multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) framework. In this article, Lord's Wald test was implemented using two estimation approaches, marginal maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation, to detect…

The impact of log-linear presmoothing on the accuracy of small sample chained equipercentile equating was evaluated under two conditions. In the first condition the small samples differed randomly in ability from the target population. In the second condition the small samples were systematically different from the target population. Results…

The focus on the individual that is possible in analyzing behavioral data provides the possibility of investigating sequencing effects. Autocorrelation--as illustrated with classroom data from a previous study--can cause standard procedures to underestimate the magnitude of measurement error. Recommendations are made to reduce the effects of…