Disengaged item responses pose a threat to the validity of the results provided by large-scale assessments. Several procedures for identifying disengaged responses on the basis of observed response times have been suggested, and item response theory (IRT) models for response engagement have been proposed. We outline that response time-based…

Instrument measurement conducted with Rasch analysis is a common process in language assessment research. A recent systematic review of 215 studies involving Rasch analysis in language testing and applied linguistics research reported that 23 different software packages had been utilized. However, none of the analyses were conducted with one of…

The purpose of this article is to introduce and review the capability and performance of the Stata item response theory (IRT) package that is available from Stata v.14, 2015. Using a simulated data set and a publicly available item response data set extracted from Programme of International Student Assessment, we review the IRT package from…

Mixed-effects models (MEMs) and latent growth models (LGMs) are often considered interchangeable save the discipline-specific nomenclature. Software implementations of these models, however, are not interchangeable, particularly with small sample sizes. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation that mitigates small sample bias in MEMs has not been…

The likelihood for generalized linear models with covariate measurement error cannot in general be expressed in closed form, which makes maximum likelihood estimation taxing. A popular alternative is regression calibration which is computationally efficient at the cost of inconsistent estimation. We propose an improved regression calibration…

One of the distinctions between classical test theory and item response theory is that the former focuses on sum scores and their relationship to true scores, whereas the latter concerns item responses and their relationship to latent scores. Although item response theory is often viewed as the richer of the two theories, sum scores are still…

This study demonstrated the equivalence between the Rasch testlet model and the three-level one-parameter testlet model and explored the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for model parameter estimation in WINBUGS. The estimation accuracy from the MCMC method was compared with those from the marginalized maximum likelihood estimation (MMLE)…

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of the level of trust of primary school teachers towards their organization in relation to their perceptions of the school having a culture of teacher leadership. Participants of the study consisted of 378 teachers working in Burdur public primary schools. The data collection tool used two…

The present study presents the formulation of graded response models in the multilevel framework (as nonlinear mixed models) and demonstrates their use in estimating item parameters and investigating the group-level effects for specific covariates using Bayesian estimation. The graded response multilevel model (GRMM) combines the formulation of…

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when an item on a test, questionnaire, or interview has different measurement properties for one group of people versus another, irrespective of true group-mean differences on the constructs being measured. This article is focused on item response theory based likelihood ratio testing for DIF (IRT-LR or…

A general latent variable model allows for maximum likelihood estimation with missing data. LISREL and LISCOMP programs may be used to carry out this estimation. Simulated data were generated. The proposed Full, Quasi-Likelihood estimator was found to be superior to listwise present quasi-likelihood and pairwise present approaches. (Author/GDC)

Pseudo-Bayesian and joint maximum likelihood procedures were compared for their ability to estimate item parameters for item response theory's (IRT's) three-parameter logistic model. Item responses were generated for sample sizes of 2,000 and 500; test lengths of 35 and 15; and examinees of high, medium, and low ability. (TJH)

The Bock and Aitkin Marginal Maximum Likelihood/EM (MML/EM) approach to item parameter estimation is an alternative to the classical joint maximum likelihood procedure of item response theory. This paper provides the essential mathematical details of a MML/EM solution and shows its use in obtaining consistent item parameter estimates. (TJH)

This LISREL study examines the robustness of the maximum likelihood estimates under varying degrees of measurement model misspecification. A true model containing five latent variables (two endogenous and three exogenous) and two indicator variables per latent variable was used. Measurement model misspecification considered included errors of…

Generalizability theory is based upon analysis of variance (ANOVA) and requires estimation of variance components for the ANOVA design under consideration in order to compute either G (Generalizability) or D (Decision) coefficients. Estimation of variance components has a number of alternative methods available using SAS, BMDP, and ad hoc…