In an earlier paper, we presented methods for estimating achievement gaps when test scores are coarsened into a small number of ordered categories, preventing fine-grained distinctions between individual scores. We demonstrated that gaps can nonetheless be estimated with minimal bias across a broad range of simulated and real coarsened data…

Regression, weighting and related approaches to estimating a population mean from a sample with nonrandom missing data often rely on the assumption that conditional on covariates, observed samples can be treated as random. Standard methods using this assumption generally will fail to yield consistent estimators when covariates are measured with…

Ho and Reardon (2012) present methods for estimating achievement gaps when test scores are coarsened into a small number of ordered categories, preventing fine-grained distinctions between individual scores. They demonstrate that gaps can nonetheless be estimated with minimal bias across a broad range of simulated and real coarsened data…

Component Universe Score Profile analysis (CUSP) is introduced in this paper as a psychometric alternative to multivariate profile analysis. The theoretical foundations of CUSP analysis are reviewed, which include multivariate generalizability theory and constrained principal components analysis. Because CUSP is a combination of generalizability…

Successful school leadership is highly contextually dependent. However, few studies focused on the comparisons of school leadership across different countries. Even among the existing studies, comparisons tend to be conducted with the assumption that the underlying factorial structure of the construct is the same. In this study, school principal's…

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when the probability of responding in a particular category to an item differs for members of different groups who are matched on the construct being measured. The identification of DIF is important for valid measurement. This research evaluates an improved version of Lord's X[superscript 2] Wald test for…

Local dependence (LD) for binary IRT models can be diagnosed using Chen and Thissen's bivariate X[superscript 2] statistic and the score test statistics proposed by Glas and Suarez-Falcon, and Liu and Thissen. Alternatively, LD can be assessed using general purpose statistics such as bivariate residuals or Maydeu-Olivares and Joe's M[subscript r]…

Single case designs (SCDs) generally consist of a small number of short time series in two or more phases. The analysis of SCDs statistically fits in the framework of a multilevel model, or hierarchical model. The usual analysis does not take into account the uncertainty in the estimation of the random effects. This not only has an effect on the…

The purpose of this article is to provide a commentary on the current state of several measurement issues pertaining to curriculum-based measures of reading (R-CBM). We begin by providing an overview of the utility of R-CBM, followed by a presentation of five specific measurements considerations: (a) the reliability of R-CBM oral reading fluency…

Experimental evaluations that involve the educational system usually involve a hierarchical structure (students are nested within classrooms that are nested within schools, etc.). Concerns about contamination, where research subjects receive certain features of an intervention intended for subjects in a different experimental group, have often led…

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a widely used teacher rating tool to assess kindergartners' developmental outcomes in Canada and a number of other countries. This paper examines the measurement invariance of EDI domains across ESL status and gender by means of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The results suggest evidence of…

As a property of test scores, reliability/dependability constitutes an important psychometric consideration, and it underpins the validity of measurement results. A review of interpreter certification performance tests (ICPTs) reveals that (a) although reliability/dependability checking has been recognized as an important concern, its theoretical…

Reliability generalization studies were conducted on the motivation and learning strategies scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to typify score reliabilities for all scales on the instrument and to examine potential sources of measurement error across studies which used these scales. Average reliability…

A total of 52 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) protocols, administered by graduate students were examined to obtain data on the type and frequency of examiner errors, the impact of errors on resultant test scores as well as improvement rate over the course of two years in training. Findings were consistent with…

Recent simulation research has demonstrated that using simple raw score to operationalize a latent construct can result in inflated Type I error rates for the interaction term of a moderated statistical model when the interaction (or lack thereof) is proposed at the latent variable level. Rescaling the scores using an appropriate item response…