A frequent criticism of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is that it does not allow correlated residuals to be modelled, while they can be routinely specified in the confirmatory (CFA) model. In this article, we propose an EFA approach in which both the common factor solution and the residual matrix are unrestricted (i.e., the correlated residuals…

Accounting for model misspecification in Bayesian structural equation models is an active area of research. We present a uniquely Bayesian approach to misspecification that models the degree of misspecification as a parameter--a parameter akin to the correlation root mean squared residual. The misspecification parameter can be interpreted on its…

We explored three approaches to resolving or re-scoring constructed-response items in mixed-format assessments: rater agreement, person fit, and targeted double scoring (TDS). We used a simulation study to consider how the three approaches impact the psychometric properties of student achievement estimates, with an emphasis on person fit. We found…

The problem of local item dependencies (LIDs) is very common in personality and attitude measures, particularly in those that measure narrow-bandwidth dimensions. At the structural level, these dependencies can be modeled by using extended factor analytic (FA) solutions that include correlated residuals. However, the effects that LIDs have on the…

The fit of an item response model is typically conceptualized as whether a given model could have generated the data. We advocate for an alternative view of fit, "predictive fit", based on the model's ability to predict new data. We derive two predictive fit metrics for item response models that assess how well an estimated item response…

Multilevel structural equation models (MSEM) are typically evaluated on the basis of goodness of fit indices. A problem with these indices is that they pertain to the entire model, reflecting simultaneously the degree of fit for all levels in the model. Consequently, in cases that lack model fit, it is unclear which level model is misspecified.…

Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) is a flexible tool for the exploration and estimation of sparse factor loading structures; that is, most cross-loading entries are zero and only a few important cross-loadings are nonzero. The current investigation was focused on the BSEM with small-variance normal distribution priors (BSEM-N) for both…

Model fit indices are being increasingly recommended and used to select the number of factors in an exploratory factor analysis. Growing evidence suggests that the recommended cutoff values for common model fit indices are not appropriate for use in an exploratory factor analysis context. A particularly prominent problem in scale evaluation is the…

Advanced modeling of item response data through the item response theory (IRT) or item factor analysis frameworks is becoming increasingly popular. In the social and behavioral sciences, the underlying structure of tests/assessments is often multidimensional (i.e., more than 1 latent variable/construct is represented in the items). This review…

The objective of this study is to develop a scale related to the auditing criteria of Turkish language and literature teachers. The study group consisted of 120 Turkish language and literature teachers who were working in Northern Cyprus. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis were performed to determine the construct validity of…

Intercultural competence is a crucial element of foreign language education, yet the multifaceted nature of this construct makes it inherently difficult to assess. Although several tools for evaluating intercultural competence currently exist, research on their use in secondary school settings is scarce. This study reports on the development and…

As the theme of the 2022 annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, cultivating equitable education systems has gained renewed attention amid an increasingly diverse society. However, systemic inequalities persist for traditionally underserved student populations. As a way to better address diverse students' needs, it is of…

Previous research identified a strong correlation between mathematics and science performance albeit for small samples of students. Even though there was a high correlation between mathematics and science performance, researchers examining students' STEM achievement investigated mathematics and science achievement separately. The present study…

Educational research emphasizes the advantages of multimethod designs. However, if the design comprises different perspectives, the question of construct validity emerges. We related this question to student and teacher ratings of student-student relations, which are of high interest in research on physical education. In our study, 2,160 students…

This paper presents a method for equating writing assessments using pairwise comparisons which does not depend upon conventional common-person or common-item equating designs. Pairwise comparisons have been successfully applied in the assessment of open-ended tasks in English and other areas such as visual art and philosophy. In this paper,…