Understanding whether or not different types of students master various attributes can aid future learning remediation. In this study, two-level diagnostic classification models (DCMs) were developed to represent the probabilistic relationship between external latent classes and attribute mastery patterns. Furthermore, variational Bayesian (VB)…

Multiple group modeling is one of the methods to address the measurement noninvariance issue. Traditional studies on multiple group modeling have mainly focused on item responses. In computer-based assessments, joint modeling of response times and action counts with item responses helps estimate the latent speed and action levels in addition to…

A multidimensional Bayesian item response model is proposed for modeling item position effects. The first dimension corresponds to the ability that is to be measured; the second dimension represents a factor that allows for individual differences in item position effects called persistence. This model allows for nonlinear item position effects on…

Severity and centrality are two main kinds of rater effects posing threats to the validity and fairness of performance assessments. Adopting Jin and Wang's (2018) extended facets modeling approach, we separately estimated the magnitude of rater severity and centrality effects in the web-based TestDaF (Test of German as a Foreign Language) writing…

Plausible values can be used to either estimate population-level statistics or compute point estimates of latent variables. While it is well known that five plausible values are usually sufficient for accurate estimation of population-level statistics in large-scale surveys, the minimum number of plausible values needed to obtain accurate latent…

Although ownership is acknowledged to exert a potent influence on various aspects of information processing, the origin of these effects remains largely unknown. Based on the demonstration that self-relevance facilitates perceptual judgments (i.e., the self-prioritization effect), here we explored the possibility that ownership enhances object…

Recent research has shown that over-extraction of latent classes can be observed in the Bayesian estimation of the mixed Rasch model when the distribution of ability is non-normal. This study examined the effect of non-normal ability distributions on the number of latent classes in the mixed Rasch model when estimated with maximum likelihood…

Item Response Theory (IRT) is a ubiquitous model for understanding humans based on their responses to questions, used in fields as diverse as education, medicine and psychology. Large modern datasets offer opportunities to capture more nuances in human behavior, potentially improving test scoring and better informing public policy. Yet larger…

For many scientists, researchers and students Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation is an important and necessary tool to perform Bayesian analyses. The simulation is often presented as a mathematical algorithm and then translated into an appropriate computer program. However, this can result in overlooking the fundamental and deeper…

Evidence evaluation is a crucial process in many human activities, spanning from medical diagnosis to impression formation. The present experiments investigated which, if any, normative model best conforms to people's intuition about the value of the obtained evidence. Psychologists, epistemologists, and philosophers of science have proposed…

Research Findings: Behavioral self-regulation is crucial for school success. Although behavioral self-regulation typically grows rapidly during the preschool period, children in this age group vary widely in their behavioral self-regulation capacities. The present study investigated 3 potential determinants of growth rates in behavioral…

When studying educational aspirations of adolescents, it is unrealistic to assume that the aspirations of pupils are independent of those of their friends. Considerable attention has also been given to the study of peer influence in the educational and behavioral literature. Typically, in empirical studies, the friendship networks have either been…

As expectations of the economic impact of educational attainment are soaring (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2009) and conjectures about successful national educational reforms (Mourshed, Chijioke, & Barber, 2010) are welcomed by educational policy-makers in many countries, a careful assessment of the empirical evidence for these kinds of claims is…

In this study, we investigated gender and minority achievement gaps on 8th-grade science items employing a multilevel item response methodology. Both gaps were wider on physics and earth science items than on biology and chemistry items. Larger gender gaps were found on items with specific topics favoring male students than other items, for…

In this article, a proposed Bayesian extension of the generalized beta spatial regression models is applied to the analysis of the quality of education in Colombia. We briefly revise the beta distribution and describe the joint modeling approach for the mean and dispersion parameters in the spatial regression models' setting. Finally, we motivate…