Oblique bifactor models, where group factors are allowed to correlate with one another, are commonly used. However, the lack of research on the statistical properties of oblique bifactor models renders the statistical validity of empirical findings questionable. Therefore, the present study took the first step to examine the statistical properties…

The purpose of this study is to develop a nonparametric DIF method that (a) compares focal groups directly to the composite group that will be used to develop the reported test score scale, and (b) allows practitioners to explore for DIF related to focal groups stemming from multicategorical variables that constitute a small proportion of the…

The primary objective of this investigation is the formulation of random intercept latent profile transition analysis (RI-LPTA). Our simulation investigation suggests that the election between LPTA and RI-LPTA for examination has negligible impact on the estimation of transition probability parameters when the population parameters are generated…

This paper develops models to measure growth in student achievement with a focus on the possibility of differential growth in achievement for low and high-achieving students. We consider a gap-closing model that evaluates the degree to which students in a target group -- students in the bottom quartile of measured achievement -- perform better…

The article describes a Windows program to estimate the expected value and sampling distribution function of the adverse impact ratio for general multistage selections. The results of the program can also be used to predict the risk that a future selection decision will result in an outcome that reflects the presence of adverse impact. The method…

The aim of this work was to determine, in terms of Type I and Type II error rates, the risks of applying various statistical procedures for evaluating differential item functioning. To this end, the authors carried out a simulation study in which the Mantel-Haenszel and SIBTEST procedures were applied in conjunction. The variables manipulated were…

Formulas for the asymptotic biases of the parameter estimates in structural equation models are provided in the case of the Wishart maximum likelihood estimation for normally and nonnormally distributed variables. When multivariate normality is satisfied, considerable simplification is obtained for the models of unstandardized variables. Formulas…

The value-added model is presented as a method of assessing the impact of treatments in pretest-posttest quasi-experimental designs. The model yields a projection of treatment group performance at posttest time with no special treatment. The difference between the expected result and the actual outcome is "the value added," a measure of…