The present study investigates the influence of multidimensionality on linking and equating in a unidimensional IRT. Two hypothetical multidimensional scenarios are explored under a nonequivalent group common-item equating design. The first scenario examines test forms designed to measure multiple constructs, while the second scenario examines a…

This study examined the significance of the mode of delivery--aural versus written--in second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge and L2 comprehension skills. One of the unique aspects of listening comprehension that sets it apart from reading comprehension is the mode of delivery--language input is delivered not visually but aurally. Somewhat…

This study explores six item-reduction methodologies used to shorten an existing complex problem-solving non-objective test by evaluating how each shortened form performs across three sources of validity evidence (i.e., test content, internal structure, and relationships with other variables). Two concerns prompted the development of the present…

Nonverbal behavior is essential in human interaction (Gullberg, de Bot, & Volterra, 2008; McNeill, 1992, 2005). For second language speakers, nonverbal features can be helpful for successful and efficient communication (e.g., Dahl & Ludvigsen, 2014). However, due to the complexity of nonverbal features, language testing institutions have…

Previous studies (Collins, 2015; Kennan & Meenan, 2014) have shown how variations in text and task factors and individual reader skills affect performance on reading comprehension assessments. The present study examined whether different presentation conditions (silent reading, watching a video) and response formats (open-ended vs.…

Recent research has demonstrated that L2 learners and heritage speakers might have two different profiles in terms of their syntactic, morpho-syntactic, and lexical-semantic knowledge of a target language (Montrul, 2004, 2006, 2010; Montrul, Foote, & Perpinan, 2008). However, the most influential of the major studies have been limited to…

Preservation of equity properties was examined using four equating methods--IRT True Score, IRT Observed Score, Frequency Estimation, and Chained Equipercentile--in a mixed-format test under a common-item nonequivalent groups (CINEG) design. Equating of mixed-format tests under a CINEG design can be influenced by factors such as attributes of the…

Item response theory (IRT) uses a family of statistical models for estimating stable characteristics of items and examinees and defining how these characteristics interact in describing item and test performance. With a focus on the three-parameter logistic IRT (Birnbaum, 1968; Lord, 1980) model, the current study examines the accuracy and…

There is a lack of knowledge in whether there is a difference in results for students on paper and pencil high stakes assessments and computer-based high stakes assessments when considering race and/or free and reduced lunch status. The purpose of this study was to add new knowledge to this field of study by determining whether there is a…

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…

The purpose of the proposed study is to add to the literature regarding the assessment of effort and malingering in the field of neuropsychology using the Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT). The majority of the literature on this measure has been in the specific areas for which the instrument was developed, namely those of visual spatial and…

Mixed-format tests containing both multiple-choice (MC) items and constructed-response (CR) items are now widely used in many testing programs. Mixed-format tests often are considered to be superior to tests containing only MC items although the use of multiple item formats leads to measurement challenges in the context of equating conducted under…

The equity properties can be used to assess the quality of an equating. The degree to which expected scores conditional on ability are similar between test forms is referred to as first-order equity. Second-order equity is the degree to which conditional standard errors of measurement are similar between test forms after equating. The purpose of…

Small sample equating remains a largely unexplored area of research. This study attempts to fill in some of the research gaps via a large-scale, IRT-based simulation study that evaluates the performance of seven small-sample equating methods under various test characteristic and sampling conditions. The equating methods considered are typically…

There has been a steady increase in the use of mixed-format tests, that is, tests consisting of both multiple-choice items and constructed-response items in both classroom and large-scale assessments. This calls for appropriate equating methods for such tests. As Item Response Theory (IRT) has rapidly become mainstream as the theoretical basis for…