A test of item compromise is presented which combines the test takers' responses and response times (RTs) into a statistic defined as the number of correct responses on the item for test takers with RTs flagged as suspicious. The test has null and alternative distributions belonging to the well-known family of compound binomial distributions, is…

This study addresses the topic of how anchoring methods for differential item functioning (DIF) analysis can be used in multigroup scenarios. The direct approach would be to combine anchoring methods developed for two-group scenarios with multigroup DIF-detection methods. Alternatively, multiple tests could be carried out. The results of these…

One of the methods of controlling test security in adaptive testing is imposing random item-ineligibility constraints on the selection of the items with probabilities automatically updated to maintain a predetermined upper bound on the exposure rates. Three major improvements of the method are presented. First, a few modifications to improve the…

A conceptualization of multiple-choice exams in terms of signal detection theory (SDT) leads to simple measures of item difficulty and item discrimination that are closely related to, but also distinct from, those used in classical item analysis (CIA). The theory defines a "true split," depending on whether or not examinees know an item,…

Traditional IRT characteristic curve linking methods ignore parameter estimation errors, which may undermine the accuracy of estimated linking constants. Two new linking methods are proposed that take into account parameter estimation errors. The item- (IWCC) and test-information-weighted characteristic curve (TWCC) methods employ weighting…

One common phenomenon in Angoff standard setting is that panelists regress their ratings in toward the middle of the probability scale. This study describes two indices based on taking ratios of standard deviations that can be utilized with a scatterplot of item ratings versus expected probabilities of success to identify whether ratings are…

This study investigates the effect of multidimensionality on extraction of latent classes in mixture Rasch models. In this study, two-dimensional data were generated under varying conditions. The two-dimensional data sets were analyzed with one- to five-class mixture Rasch models. Results of the simulation study indicate the mixture Rasch model…

Calibration of an item bank for computer adaptive testing requires substantial resources. In this study, we investigated whether the efficiency of calibration under the Rasch model could be enhanced by improving the match between item difficulty and student ability. We introduced targeted multistage calibration designs, a design type that…

Person reliability parameters (PRPs) model temporary changes in individuals' attribute level perceptions when responding to self-report items (higher levels of PRPs represent less fluctuation). PRPs could be useful in measuring careless responding and traitedness. However, it is unclear how well current procedures for estimating PRPs can recover…

The present study evaluated the multiple imputation method, a procedure that is similar to the one suggested by Li and Lissitz (2004), and compared the performance of this method with that of the bootstrap method and the delta method in obtaining the standard errors for the estimates of the parameter scale transformation coefficients in item…

Large-scale standardized tests are regularly used to measure student achievement overall and for student subgroups. These uses assume tests provide comparable measures of outcomes across student subgroups, but prior research suggests score comparisons across gender groups may be complicated by the type of test items used. This paper presents…

An Angoff standard setting study generally yields judgments on a number of items by a number of judges (who may or may not be nested in panels). Variability associated with judges (and possibly panels) contributes error to the resulting cut score. The variability associated with items plays a more complicated role. To the extent that the mean item…

Most of the existing classification accuracy indices of attribute patterns lose effectiveness when the response data is absent in diagnostic testing. To handle this issue, this article proposes new indices to predict the correct classification rate of a diagnostic test before administering the test under the deterministic noise input…

This study investigates the effect of several design and administration choices on item exposure and person/item parameter recovery under a multistage test (MST) design. In a simulation study, we examine whether number-correct (NC) or item response theory (IRT) methods are differentially effective at routing students to the correct next stage(s)…

Scores estimated from multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models are not necessarily comparable across dimensions. In this article, the concept of aligned dimensions is formalized in the context of Rasch models, and two methods are described--delta dimensional alignment (DDA) and logistic regression alignment (LRA)--to transform estimated…