The design and psychometric methodology of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is constantly evolving to meet the changing interests and demands stemming from a rapidly shifting educational landscape. NAEP has been built on strong research foundations that include conducting extensive evaluations and comparisons before new…

Although the root-mean squared deviation (RMSD) is a popular statistical measure for evaluating country-specific item-level misfit (i.e., differential item functioning [DIF]) in international large-scale assessment, this paper shows that its sensitivity to detect misfit may depend strongly on the proficiency distribution of the considered…

This article provides a brief introduction to the Rasch model. Motivation for using Rasch analyses is provided. Important Rasch model concepts and key aspects of result interpretation are introduced, with major points reinforced using a simulation demonstration. Concrete guidelines are provided regarding sample size and the evaluation of items.

Testing in educational system perform a number of functions, the results from a test can be used to make a number of decisions in education. It is therefore well accepted in the education literature that, testing is an important element of education. To effectively utilize the tests in educational policies and quality assurance its validity and…

David Thissen, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Quantitative Program at the University of North Carolina, has consulted and served on technical advisory committees for assessment programs that use item response theory (IRT) over the past couple decades. He has come to the conclusion that there are usually two purposes…

There are relatively few examples of quantitative approaches to quality control in educational assessment and accountability contexts. Among the several techniques that are used in other fields, Shewart charts have been found in a few instances to be applicable in educational settings. This paper describes Shewart charts and gives examples of how…

Estimation of multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) model parameters can be carried out using the normal ogive with unweighted least squares estimation with the normal-ogive harmonic analysis robust method (NOHARM) software. Previous simulation research has demonstrated that this approach does yield accurate and efficient estimates of item…

The traditional way of equating the scores on a new test form X to those on an old form Y is equipercentile equating for a population of examinees. Because the population is likely to change between the two administrations, a popular approach is to equate for a "synthetic population." The authors of the articles in this issue of the…

The graded response (GR) and generalized partial credit (GPC) models do not imply that examinees ordered by raw observed score will necessarily be ordered on the expected value of the latent trait (OEL). Factors were manipulated to assess whether increased violations of OEL also produced increased Type I error rates in differential item…

In this article, we present a theory of test translation whose intent is to provide the conceptual foundation for effective, systematic work in the process of test translation and test translation review. According to the theory, translation error is multidimensional; it is not simply the consequence of defective translation but an inevitable fact…

Examinees who take high-stakes assessments are usually given an opportunity to repeat the test if they are unsuccessful on their initial attempt. To prevent examinees from obtaining unfair score increases by memorizing the content of specific test items, testing agencies usually assign a different test form to repeat examinees. The use of multiple…

There is often confusion about distinctions between growth models and value-added models. The first half of this paper attempts to dispel some of these confusions by clarifying terminology and illustrating by example how the results from a large-scale assessment can and will be used to make inferences about student growth and the value-added…

Student responses to a large number of constructed response items in three Math and three Reading tests were scored on two occasions using three ways of assigning raters: single reader scoring, a different reader for each response (item-specific), and three readers each scoring a rater item block (RIB) containing approximately one-third of a…

This article introduces a multinomial error model, which models an examinee's test scores obtained over repeated measurements of an assessment that consists of polytomously scored items. A compound multinomial error model is also introduced for situations in which items are stratified according to content categories and/or prespecified numbers of…

Exact formulas for classical error variance are provided for Rasch measurement with logistic distributions. An approximation formula with the normal ability distribution is also provided. With the proposed formulas, the additive contribution of individual items to the population error variance can be determined without knowledge of the other test…