In this article, we investigate the creation of comparable score scales across countries in international assessments. We examine potential improvements to current score scale calibration procedures used in international large-scale assessments. Our approach seeks to improve fairness in scoring international large-scale assessments, which often…

Many tests used in educational settings to identify learning difficulties endeavour to pick up only the lowest performers. Yet these tests are generally developed within a Classical Test Theory (CTT) paradigm that assumes that data do not have significant skew. Rasch analysis is more tolerant of skew and was used to validate two newly developed…

Though addressing sources of uncertainty is an important part of doing science, it has largely been neglected in assessing students' scientific argumentation. In this study, we initially defined a scientific argumentation construct in four structural elements consisting of claim, justification, uncertainty qualifier, and uncertainty…

In the social sciences, latent traits often have a hierarchical structure, and data can be sampled from multiple levels. Both hierarchical latent traits and multilevel data can occur simultaneously. In this study, we developed a general class of item response theory models to accommodate both hierarchical latent traits and multilevel data. The…

For computerized adaptive tests (CATs) to work well, they must have an item pool with sufficient numbers of good quality items. Many researchers have pointed out that, in developing item pools for CATs, not only is the item pool size important but also the distribution of item parameters and practical considerations such as content distribution…

Data from competence tests usually show a number of missing responses on test items due to both omitted and not-reached items. Different approaches for dealing with missing responses exist, and there are no clear guidelines on which of those to use. While classical approaches rely on an ignorable missing data mechanism, the most recently developed…

The nominal response model (NRM), a much understudied polytomous item response theory (IRT) model, provides researchers the unique opportunity to evaluate within-item category distinctions. Polytomous IRT models, such as the NRM, are frequently applied to psychological assessments representing constructs that are unlikely to be normally…

Differential item functioning (DIF) may be caused by an interaction of multiple manifest grouping variables or unexplored manifest variables, which cannot be detected by conventional DIF detection methods that are based on a single manifest grouping variable. Such DIF may be detected by a latent approach using the mixture item response theory…

A polytomous item is one for which the responses are scored according to three or more categories. Given the increasing use of polytomous items in assessment practices, item response theory (IRT) models specialized for polytomous items are becoming increasingly common. The purpose of this ITEMS module is to provide an accessible overview of…

Standard 3.9 of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ([, 1999]) demands evidence of model fit when item response theory (IRT) models are employed to data from tests. Hambleton and Han ([Hambleton, R. K., 2005]) and Sinharay ([Sinharay, S., 2005]) recommended the assessment of practical significance of misfit of IRT models, but…

This study makes two contributions to the literature. First, it bridges the sociological discussion of social class habitus with psychological notions of adolescents' educational expectations, locus of control, and self-concepts. Second, it empirically examines the relationships between early employed parental practices and expectations and…

Research Findings: Home literacy involvement (e.g., shared book reading) has been linked to enhanced cognitive development and school readiness during early childhood. Furthermore, precursory reading and math skills are key predictors of high school achievement. This study examined prospective relations between Mexican mothers' English…

When rating scales are used in different countries, thorough investigation of the psychometric properties is needed. We examined the internal structure of the Finnish translated Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 (BERS-2) using Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis approaches with a sample of youth, parents, and teachers. The results…

The authors of the Focus article pose important questions regarding whether or not performance-based tasks related to executive functioning are best viewed as reflective or formative indicators. Miyake and Friedman (2012) define executive functioning (EF) as "a set of general-purpose control mechanisms, often linked to the prefrontal cortex…

Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey--Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data, we examine how exposure to instructional practices influences math test scores at the end of kindergarten for children from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and for children with different levels of math skills at kindergarten entry. We also analyze…