ERIC Number: EJ1381814
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Aug
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1644
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3888
Available Date: N/A
Relative Robustness of CDMs and (M)IRT in Measuring Growth in Latent Skills
Educational and Psychological Measurement, v83 n4 p808-830 Aug 2023
Previous studies have demonstrated evidence of latent skill continuity even in tests intentionally designed for measurement of binary skills. In addition, the assumption of binary skills when continuity is present has been shown to potentially create a lack of invariance in item and latent ability parameters that may undermine applications. In this article, we examine measurement of growth as one such application, and consider multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) as a competing alternative. Motivated by prior findings concerning the effects of skill continuity, we study the relative robustness of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) and (M)IRT models in the measurement of growth under both binary and continuous latent skill distributions. We find CDMs to be a less robust way of quantifying growth under misspecification, and subsequently provide a real-data example suggesting underestimation of growth as a likely consequence. It is suggested that researchers should regularly attend to the assumptions associated with the use of latent binary skills and consider (M)IRT as a potentially more robust alternative if unsure of their discrete nature.
Descriptors: Item Response Theory, Test Items, Skill Development, Robustness (Statistics), Diagnostic Tests, Intelligence Tests, Error of Measurement, Simulation, Correlation, Longitudinal Studies
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A