Recent research has demonstrated an intersectional approach to the study of differential item functioning (DIF). This approach expands DIF to account for the interactions between what have traditionally been treated as separate grouping variables. In this paper, we compare traditional and intersectional DIF analyses using data from a state testing…

State testing programs regularly release previously administered test items to the public. We provide an open-source recipe for state, district, and school assessment coordinators to combine these items flexibly to produce scores linked to established state score scales. These would enable estimation of student score distributions and achievement…

State testing programs regularly release previously administered test items to the public. We provide an open-source recipe for state, district, and school assessment coordinators to combine these items flexibly to produce scores linked to established state score scales. These would enable estimation of student score distributions and achievement…

In data collected from virtual learning environments (VLEs), item response theory (IRT) models can be used to guide the ongoing measurement of student ability. However, such applications of IRT rely on unbiased item parameter estimates associated with test items in the VLE. Without formal piloting of the items, one can expect a large amount of…

Continuously administered examination programs, particularly credentialing programs that require graduation from educational programs, often experience seasonality where distributions of examine ability may differ over time. Such seasonality may affect the quality of important statistical processes, such as item response theory (IRT) item…

The purpose of this study was to apply two types of Differential Item Functioning (DIF), net and global DIF, as well as the framework of Differential Step Functioning (DSF) to real testing data to investigate measurement invariance related to test language. Data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)-2006 polytomously scored…

An equating procedure for a testing program with evolving distribution of examinee profiles is developed. No anchor is available because the original scoring scheme was based on expert judgment of the item difficulties. Pairs of examinees from two administrations are formed by matching on coarsened propensity scores derived from a set of…

This simulation study was prompted by the current increased interest in linking national studies to international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) such as IEA's TIMSS, IEA's PIRLS, and OECD's PISA. Linkage in this scenario is achieved by including items from the international assessments in the national assessments on the premise that the average…

Many scales contain both positively and negatively worded items. Reverse recoding of negatively worded items might not be enough for them to function as positively worded items do. In this study, we commented on the drawbacks of existing approaches to wording effect in mixed-format scales and used bi-factor item response theory (IRT) models to…

In July 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted to adopt Common Core's standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in place of the state's own standards in these two subjects. The vote was based largely on recommendations by Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester and then Secretary of…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined effects of reduced equating sample size and shortened anchor test length on item response theory (IRT)-based linking and equating results. Data from two independent operational forms of a large-scale testing program were used to establish the baseline results for evaluating the results from…

Standardized examinations, such as those developed and disseminated by the ACS Examinations Institute, are artifacts of the teaching of a course and over time may provide a historical perspective on how curricula have changed and evolved. This study investigated changes in organic chemistry curricula across a 60-year period by evaluating 18 ACS…

Maintaining score stability is crucial for an ongoing testing program that administers several tests per year over many years. One way to stall the drift of the score scale is to use an equating design with multiple links. In this study, we use the operational and experimental SAT® data collected from 44 administrations to investigate the effect…

This article used several data sets from a large-scale state testing program to examine the feasibility of combining general and modified assessment items in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for different groups of students. Results suggested that several of the assumptions made when employing this type of mixed-item CAT may not be met for…

Approximately one-third of American freshmen at two-year and four-year colleges require remedial coursework and over 40 percent of employers rate new hires with a high school diploma as "deficient" in their overall preparation for entry-level jobs. Yet, over the past decade, as these students marched through America's public education…