Purpose: As factors influencing human word perception are important in the construction of speech perception tests used within the speech and hearing sciences, the purposes of this study were as follows--first, to develop algorithms that can be used to calculate different types of word metrics that influence the speed and accuracy of word…

In an on-demand testing program, some items are repeatedly used across test administrations. This poses a risk to test security. In this study, we considered a scenario wherein a test was divided into two subsets: one consisting of secure items and the other consisting of possibly compromised items. In a simulation study of multistage adaptive…

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the effects of various factors on the performance of the methods used in the determination of differential item functioning (DIF) in the DINA model included in the Cognitive Diagnosis Models. The current study is limited with Logistic Regression and Wald test methods which were used to determine the…

Cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) are latent class multidimensional statistical models that help classify people accurately by using a set of discrete latent variables, commonly referred to as attributes. These models require a Q-matrix that indicates the attributes involved in each item. A potential problem is that the Q-matrix construction…

Rater-mediated assessments are a common methodology for measuring persons, investigating rater behavior, and/or defining latent constructs. The purpose of this article is to provide a pedagogical framework for examining rater variability in the context of rater-mediated assessments using three distinct models. The first model is the observation…

The identification of rapid guessing is important to promote the validity of achievement test scores, particularly with low-stakes tests. Effective methods for identifying rapid guesses require reliable threshold methods that are also aligned with test taker behavior. Although several common threshold methods are based on rapid guessing response…

Purpose: Functional imaging is often used to try to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanism of tinnitus. Residual inhibition, the temporary suppression of tinnitus after application of a masking noise, could be an interesting technique to modulate tinnitus perception in functional imaging paradigms. The purposes of this study were to primarily…

Monolingual content assessments of multilingual students remarkably fail their most essential endeavor--to provide meaningful information about their content proficiency. Multilingual students take years to catch up with their monolingual peers in terms of language proficiency, and it is inappropriate to assess them using a language that they do…

This dissertation presents the details of a study that explored the experiences of "roninsei"--Japanese students who are preparing to re-attempt the university entrance examination. Though an influential population later in life, its defining educational experience has rarely been researched. The questions this study sought to answer…

For equating tests that measure several distinct proficiencies, procedures that reflect the multidimensional structure of the data are needed. Although there exist a few equating procedures developed under the multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) framework, there is a need for further research in this area. Therefore, the primary…

Classification accuracy is a key characteristic of screening tools. A goal in classification accuracy is to correctly identify issues that result in a later problem and situations in which the scores identify issues that do not result in a later problem.

This article examines the possible dependency of composite reliability on presentation format of the elements of a multi-item measuring instrument. Using empirical data and a recent method for interval estimation of group differences in reliability, we demonstrate that the reliability of an instrument need not be the same when polarity of the…

A common suggestion made in the psychometric literature for fixed-length classification tests is that one should design tests so that they have maximum information at the cut score. Designing tests in this way is believed to maximize the classification accuracy and consistency of the assessment. This article uses simulated examples to illustrate…

We explore whether the item characteristics of four-response multiple-choice questions with "paired" (non-independent) response options differ from those with unpaired response options in an operational licensure exam in terms of guessing behavior. Our analyses suggest that they do not. We discuss conditions where response pairing might…

A diagnostic test in economics to aid the teachers determine student's specific weak content areas was developed and validated. Five research questions guided the study. Preliminary validation was done by two experienced teachers in the content area of secondary economics and two experts in test construction. The pilot testing was conducted for…