Multidimensional computer adaptive testing (MCAT) can provide higher precision and reliability or reduce test length when compared with unidimensional CAT or with the paper-and-pencil test. This study compared five item selection procedures in the MCAT framework for both domain scores and overall scores through simulation by varying the structure…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new method for fitting item response theory models with the latent population distribution estimated from the data using splines. A spline-based density estimation system provides a flexible alternative to existing procedures that use a normal distribution, or a different functional form, for the…

A split-sample replication stopping rule for hierarchical cluster analysis is compared with the internal criterion previously found superior by Milligan and Cooper (1985) in their comparison of 30 different procedures. Situations under which the methods are equivalent or not equally useful are discussed. (SLD)

It is demonstrated that, in the presence of population information, a linear combination of true scores can be estimated more efficiently than by the same linear combination of the observed scores. Three criteria for optimality are discussed, but they yield the same solution, described as a multivariate shrinkage estimator. (Author/SLD)

Studied the improvement in precision of population estimates from the inclusion of extensive covariates in the multivariate procedure that imputes values for the missing proficiencies. Analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (samples of 10,291 eighth graders and 8,416 fourth graders) shows that improvement in…