Using simulation-based inference (SBI), such as randomization tests, as the primary vehicle for introducing students to the logic and scope of statistical inference has been advocated with the potential of improving student understanding of statistical inference and the statistical investigative process. Moving beyond the individual class…

The recent simulation-based inference (SBI) movement in algebra-based introductory statistics courses (Stat 101) has provided preliminary evidence of improved student conceptual understanding and retention. However, little is known about whether these positive effects are preferentially distributed across types of students entering the course. We…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an 11th-grade and 12th-grade zoo-based academic high school experiential science program compared to a same school-district school-based academic high school experiential science program on students' pretest and posttest science, math, and reading achievement, and student perceptions of…

Various applications of item response theory often require linking to achieve a common scale for item parameter estimates obtained from different groups. This article used a simulation to examine the relative performance of four different item response theory (IRT) linking procedures in a random groups equating design: concurrent calibration with…

The benefits of item response theory (IRT) will only accrue to a testing program to the extent that model assumptions are met. Obtaining accurate item parameter estimates is a critical first step. However, the sample sizes required for stable parameter estimation are often difficult to obtain in practice, particularly for the more complex models.…

This paper reviews the existing multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models and demonstrates how one of the models can be applied to estimation of abilities from a test measuring more than one dimension. The purposes of this paper were threefold. First, the fundamental concepts required when considering multidimensional models for the…

A two-stage study was conducted to compare the ability estimates yielded by tailored testing procedures based on the one-parameter logistic (1PL) and three-parameter logistic (3PL) models. The first stage of the study employed real data, while the second stage employed simulated data. In the first stage, response data for 3,000 examinees were…

Analysis of a two-way sample of means is considered when corresponding population means are believed a priori to satisfy a partial order restriction. Simulation and the Gibbs sampler are used to summarize posterior distributions, and the posterior distribution is used to predict GPAs of first-year students at University of Iowa. (SLD)

In this paper a quadratic curve equating method for different test forms under a random-group data-collection design is proposed. Procedures for implementing this method and related issues are described and discussed. The quadratic-curve method was evaluated with real test data (from two 30-item subtests for a professional licensure examination…