Despite the increasing demand for diagnostic information, observed subscores have been often reported to lack adequate psychometric qualities such as reliability, distinctiveness, and validity. Therefore, several statistical techniques based on CTT and IRT frameworks have been proposed to improve the quality of subscores. More recently, DCM has…

This three-manuscript dissertation attempts to answer the question: "How does students' English language proficiency (ELP) inform the availability, structure, and use of English language accommodations and intervention to support the academic achievement of English learner (EL) students?" The question is addressed using three independent…

There is an increased demand on nursing faculty to provide quality teaching and assessment. Nursing faculty are required to ensure accurate assessment of learning through testing and outcome measurement that are critical elements of the evaluation process. Likewise, nursing faculty should implement a logical evaluation system. However, the…

Although there are several comprehensive measures of children's anxiety symptoms, many have limited utility for screening within school settings. As such, the primary purpose of this dissertation was to develop a brief self-report anxiety measure appropriate for use with students in Grades 3-8. An initial pool of 50 items was developed based on…

The purpose of the present study is to apply the item response theory (IRT) and testlet response theory (TRT) models to a reading comprehension test. This study applied the TRT models and the traditional IRT model to a seventh-grade reading comprehension test (n = 8,815) with eight testlets. These three models were compared to determine the best…

There is a pervasive need for school systems to empirically and reliably assess the data literacy and data use skills of their educators (Ingram et al., 2004). With the federal government holding states and school districts accountable for student achievement and the increased emphasis of high stakes testing in schools, it is also critical to be…

Despite the growing recognition that second language (L2) listening is a skill incorporating the ability to process visual information along with the auditory stimulus, standardized L2 listening assessments have been predominantly operationalizing this language skill as visual-free (Buck, 2001; Kang, Gutierrez Arvizu, Chaipuapae, & Lesnov,…

Previous research has demonstrated that DIF methods that do not account for multilevel data structure could result in too frequent rejection of the null hypothesis (i.e., no DIF) when the intraclass correlation coefficient (?) of the studied item was the same as ? of the total score. The current study extended previous research by comparing the…

The present study aimed to represent the innovative assessments that support students' learning in STEM education through using the integrative framework for Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling (CDM). This framework is based on three components, cognition, observation, and interpretation (National Research Council, 2001). Specifically, this dissertation…

Educational and psychological constructs are normally measured by multifaceted dimensions. The measured construct is defined and measured by a set of related subdomains. A bifactor model can accurately describe such data with both the measured construct and the related subdomains. However, a limitation of the bifactor model is the orthogonality…

There are persistent challenges to teaching mixed methods and innovative solutions are sought in order to address the needs of an increasingly diverse global audience seeking mixed methods instruction. This mixed methods study was conducted to gain insights to course design by more fully understanding the relationships among graduate student…

The computer-adaptive multistage testing (ca-MST) has been developed as an alternative to computerized adaptive testing (CAT), and been increasingly adopted in large-scale assessments. Current research and practice only focus on ca-MST panels for credentialing purposes. The ca-MST test mode, therefore, is designed to gauge a single scale. The…

Current teaching standards and practices are dictated, at least in part, by state- and district-mandated standardized tests. Yet, despite being surrounded by data, teachers receive only basic trainings on how to use assessments. In reality, teachers use data and assessments daily--even minute by minute--through the assessment process, which uses…

A simulation study was conducted to explore the performance of the linear logistic test model (LLTM) when the relationships between items and cognitive components were misspecified. Factors manipulated included percent of misspecification (0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, and 15%), form of misspecification (under-specification, balanced misspecification, and…

Developmental score scales represent the performance of students along a continuum, where as students learn more they move higher along that continuum. Unidimensional item response theory (UIRT) vertical scaling has become a commonly used method to create developmental score scales. Research has shown that UIRT vertical scaling methods can be…