Studied whether a change of test item sequencing, intended to increase test complexity, would cause increased involvement of general intelligence using a sample of Swedish military recruits who received heterogeneous (n=1,778) or homogeneous (n=363) tests. Items presented homogeneously showed higher general intelligence ("G") loadings.…

Generating a test from an item bank using a criterion based on classical test theory parameters poses considerable problems. A mathematical model is formulated that maximizes the reliability coefficient alpha, subject to logical constraints on the choice of items. Theorems ensuring appropriate application of the Lagragian relation techniques are…

Simulation studies indicate that, for responses to complete tests, construction of Rasch measures from observational data, followed by principal components factor analysis of Rasch residuals, provides an effective means of identifying multidimensionality. The most diagnostically useful residual form was found to be the standardized residual. (SLD)

The local dependence of item pairs is investigated through a conditional covariance function estimation procedure. The conditioning variable used is obtained by a monotonic transformation of total score on the remaining items. Conditional covariance functions are estimated by using kernel smoothing. Several models of local dependence are…

Using item mean squares to evaluate fit to the Rasch model was studied, also considering the transformed version of the item fit statistics. Simulations demonstrate that the critical value for the mean square used to detect misfit is affected by the type of mean square and the number of persons in the calibration. (SLD)

Presents the hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) as an explicit two-level formulation of a multilevel item response model. Shows that the HGLM is equivalent to the Rasch model, and that a characteristic of the HGLM is that person ability can be expressed as a latent regression model with person-characteristic variables. Shows that the…

Reviewed aspects of the SIBTEST procedure through three studies. Study 1 examined the effects of item format using 40 mathematics items from the Scholastic Assessment Test. Study 2 considered the effects of a problem type factor and its interaction with item format for eight items, and study 3 evaluated the degree to which factors varied in the…

Discusses the logic of the rule-space model (K. Tatsuoka, 1983) as it applies to test development and analysis. The rule-space model is a statistical method for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of attribute-mastery patterns associated with different cognitive skills. Directs readers to a tutorial that may be downloaded. (SLD)

Factor analysis of 1,030 adults' responses on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) were used to test 4 alternative models. Results support a four-factor structure similar to the original Jungian structure. Elimination of 12 MBTI items was recommended. (SK)

Suggests that because of the nonlinear relationship between item usage and item security, the problems of test security posed by continuous administration of standardized tests cannot be resolved merely by increasing the size of the item pool. Offers alternative strategies to overcome these problems, distributing test items so as to avoid the…

Proposed a refinement, based on the stratification of items developed by D. Weiss (1973), of the computerized adaptive testing item selection procedure of H. Chang and Z. Ying (1999). Simulation studies using an item bank from the Graduate Record Examination show the benefits of the new procedure. (SLD)

Used simulation to study the effects of the practice of item parceling. Results indicate that certain types of item parceling can obfuscate a multidimensional factor structure in a way that acceptable values of fit indexes are found for a misspecified solution. Discusses why the use of parceling cannot be recommended when items are…

Extended an Item Response Theory (IRT) method for detection of differential item functioning to the partial credit model and applied the method to simulated data using a stepwise procedure. Then applied the stepwise DIF analysis based on the multiple-group partial credit model to writing trend data from the National Assessment of Educational…

This book is designed to be an instructional guide rather than a technical manual. For that reason, it provides a comprehensive and integrated overview of the procedures for detecting differential item functioning with citations to more technically detailed references. (SLD)

Proposes a marginal Bayesian estimation procedure to improve item parameter estimates for the three parameter logistic model. Computer simulation suggests that implementing the marginal Bayesian estimation algorithm with four-parameter beta prior distributions and then updating the priors with empirical means of updated intermediate estimates can…