This paper aims to describe a Bayesian approach to modeling and estimating cognitive models both in terms of statistical machinery and actual instrument development. Such a method taps the knowledge of experts to provide initial estimates for the probabilistic relationships among the variables in a multivariate latent variable model and refines…

Recent developments in cognitive psychology suggest models for knowledge and learning that often fall outside the realm of standard test theory. This paper concerns probability-based inference in terms of such models. The essential idea is to define a space of "student models"--simplified characterizations of students' knowledge, skill,…

When using item response theory (IRT) models in educational and psychological measurement, it is standard practice to estimate the operating characteristics of test items from examinees' item responses alone. This is the final report of a project that employed Bayesian and empirical Bayesian methods to exploit additional information that is often…

Advances in cognitive research increase the need for assessment that can address the processes and the strategies by which persons solve problems. Several psychometric models have been introduced to handle claims cast in information-processing terms, explicitly modeling performance in terms of theory-based predictions of performance. Cognitively…