This study aimed to compare item characteristics and response time between stimulus conditions in computer-delivered listening tests. Listening materials had three variants: regular videos, frame-by-frame videos, and only audios without visuals. Participants were 228 Japanese high school students who were requested to complete one of nine…

Multidimensionality is common in psychological and educational measurements. This study focuses on dimensions that converge at the upper anchor (i.e. the highest acquisition status defined in a learning progression) and compares different ways of dealing with them using the multidimensional random coefficients multinomial logit model and scale…

When student achievement is assessed, we seek to elicit a student's maximum performance -- a goal requiring the assumption that the student is fully engaged. Otherwise, to the extent that disengagement occurs, test performance is likely to suffer. Effectively managing test-taking disengagement requires an understanding of the testing conditions…

Large-scale educational assessments are sometimes considered low-stakes, increasing the possibility of confounding true performance level with low motivation. These concerns are amplified in remote testing conditions. To remove the effects of low effort levels in responses observed in remote low-stakes testing, several motivation filtering methods…

Recent research has demonstrated an intersectional approach to the study of differential item functioning (DIF). This approach expands DIF to account for the interactions between what have traditionally been treated as separate grouping variables. In this paper, we compare traditional and intersectional DIF analyses using data from a state testing…

We investigate two research questions using a recent statewide transition from paper to computer-based testing: first, the extent to which test mode effects found in prior studies can be eliminated; and second, the degree to which online and paper assessments offer different information about underlying student ability. We first find very small…

Cognitive diagnostic assessment based on Bayesian networks (BN) is developed in this paper to evaluate student understanding of the physical concept of buoyancy. we propose a three-order granular-hierarchy BN model which accounts for both fine-grained attributes and high-level proficiencies. Conditional independence in the BN structure is tested…

This study evaluates various scoring methods including number-correct scoring, IRT theta scoring, and hybrid scoring in terms of scale-score stability over time. A simulation study was conducted to examine the relative performance of five scoring methods in terms of preserving the first two moments of scale scores for a population in a chain of…

We compared coefficient alpha with five alternatives (omega total, omega RT, omega h, GLB, and coefficient H) in two simulation studies. Results showed for unidimensional scales, (a) all indices except omega h performed similarly well for most conditions; (b) alpha is still good; (c) GLB and coefficient H overestimated reliability with small…

We examine longitudinal data from 120,384 students who took a version of the PSAT/SAT in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We investigate score changes over time and show that socioeconomic status (SES) is related to the degree of score improvement. We note that the 9th and 10th grade PSAT are low-stakes tests, while the operational SAT is a…

Multiple choice results are inherently probabilistic outcomes, as correct responses reflect a combination of knowledge and guessing, while incorrect responses additionally reflect blunder, a confidently committed mistake. To objectively resolve knowledge from responses in an MC test structure, we evaluated probabilistic models that explicitly…

Several states in the US have removed time limits on their state assessments. In Indiana, where this study takes place, the state assessment is both untimed during the testing window and allows unlimited breaks during the testing session. Using grade 3 and 8 math and English state assessment data, in this paper we focus on time used for testing…

New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) innovative assessment system uses student scores from classroom performance assessments as well as other classroom tests for school accountability purposes. One concern is that not having annual state testing may incentivize schools and teachers away from teaching the breadth of…

The growing number of children in primary schools in Germany who have German as their second language (L2) has raised questions about the fairness of performance assessment. Fair tests are a prerequisite for distinguishing between L2 learning delay and a specific learning disability. We evaluated five commonly used reading and spelling tests for…

Many educational and psychological studies have shown that the development of students is generally step-by-step (i.e. ordinal development) to a specific level. This study proposed a novel longitudinal learning diagnosis model with polytomous attributes to track students' ordinal development in learning. Using the concept of polytomous attributes…