This study examined the widely used threshold of 0.2 for Yen's Q3, an index for violations of local independence. Specifically, a simulation was conducted to investigate whether Q3 values were related to the magnitude of bias in estimates of reliability, item parameters, and examinee ability. Results showed that Q3 values below the typical cut-off…

This study presents a generalized version of the residual differential item functioning (RDIF) detection framework in item response theory, named GRDIF, to analyze differential item functioning (DIF) in multiple groups. The GRDIF framework retains the advantages of the original RDIF framework, such as computational efficiency and ease of…

Educational tests often have a cluster of items linked by a common stimulus ("testlet"). In such a design, the dependencies caused between items are called "testlet effects." In particular, the directional testlet effect (DTE) refers to a recursive influence whereby responses to earlier items can positively or negatively affect…

Response styles pose great threats to psychological measurements. This research compares IRTree models and anchoring vignettes in addressing response styles and estimating the target traits. It also explores the potential of combining them at the item level and total-score level (ratios of extreme and middle responses to vignettes). Four models…

Many large-scale assessments are designed to yield two or more scores for an individual by administering multiple sections measuring different but related skills. Multidimensional tests, or more specifically, simple structured tests, such as these rely on multiple multiple-choice and/or constructed responses sections of items to generate multiple…

Numerous researchers have proposed methods for evaluating the quality of rater-mediated assessments using nonparametric methods (e.g., kappa coefficients) and parametric methods (e.g., the many-facet Rasch model). Generally speaking, popular nonparametric methods for evaluating rating quality are not based on a particular measurement theory. On…

This article considers psychometric properties of composite raw scores and transformed scale scores on mixed-format tests that consist of a mixture of multiple-choice and free-response items. Test scores on several mixed-format tests are evaluated with respect to conditional and overall standard errors of measurement, score reliability, and…

This research derived information functions and proposed new scalar information indices to examine the quality of multidimensional forced choice (MFC) items based on the RANK model. We also explored how GGUM-RANK information, latent trait recovery, and reliability varied across three MFC formats: pairs (two response alternatives), triplets (three…

The purpose of this study was to build a Random Forest supervised machine learning model in order to predict musical rater-type classifications based upon a Rasch analysis of raters' differential severity/leniency related to item use. Raw scores (N = 1,704) from 142 raters across nine high school solo and ensemble festivals (grades 9-12) were…

This article describes an ongoing project to develop a formative, inferential reading comprehension assessment of causal story comprehension. It has three features to enhance classroom use: equated scale scores for progress monitoring within and across grades, a scale score to distinguish among low-scoring students based on patterns of mistakes,…

Ratings given to the same item response may have a stronger correlation than those given to different item responses, especially when raters interact with one another before giving ratings. The rater bundle model was developed to account for such local dependence by forming multiple ratings given to an item response as a bundle and assigning…

As a global measure of precision, item response theory (IRT) estimated reliability is derived for four coefficients (Cronbach's a, Feldt-Raju, stratified a, and marginal reliability). Models with different underlying assumptions concerning test-part similarity are discussed. A detailed computational example is presented for the targeted…

C-tests are a specific variant of cloze tests that are considered time-efficient, valid indicators of general language proficiency. They are commonly analyzed with models of item response theory assuming local item independence. In this article we estimated local interdependencies for 12 C-tests and compared the changes in item difficulties,…

This study investigates a sequence of item response theory (IRT) true score equatings based on various scale transformation approaches and evaluates equating accuracy and consistency over time. The results show that the biases and sample variances for the IRT true score equating (both direct and indirect) are quite small (except for the mean/sigma…

Sometimes, test-takers may not be able to attempt all items to the best of their ability (with full effort) due to personal factors (e.g., low motivation) or testing conditions (e.g., time limit), resulting in poor performances on certain items, especially those located toward the end of a test. Standard item response theory (IRT) models fail to…