The effects of different response option orders on survey responses have been studied extensively. The typical research design involves examining the differences in response characteristics between conditions with the same item stems and response option orders that differ in valence--either incrementally arranged (e.g., strongly disagree to…

In large-scale low-stake assessment such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), students may skip items (missingness) which are within their ability to complete. The detection and taking care of these noneffortful responses, as a measure of test-taking motivation, is an important issue in modern psychometric models.…

Many psychological scales written in the Likert format include reverse worded (RW) items in order to control acquiescence bias. However, studies have shown that RW items often contaminate the factor structure of the scale by creating one or more method factors. The present study examines an alternative scale format, called the Expanded format,…

Differential test functioning, or DTF, occurs when one or more items in a test demonstrate differential item functioning (DIF) and the aggregate of these effects are witnessed at the test level. In many applications, DTF can be more important than DIF when the overall effects of DIF at the test level can be quantified. However, optimal statistical…

To measure the response style of acquiescence, researchers recommend the use of at least 15 items with heterogeneous content. Such an approach is consistent with its theoretical definition and is a substantial improvement over traditional methods. Nevertheless, measurement of acquiescence can be enhanced by two additional considerations: first, to…

How to compute and report subscores for a test that was originally designed for reporting scores on a unidimensional scale has been a topic of interest in recent years. In the research reported here, we describe an application of multidimensional item response theory to identify a subscore structure in a test designed for reporting results using a…

Previous research has found the effects of acquiescence to be generally consistent across item "aggregates" within a single survey (i.e., essential tau-equivalence), but it is unknown whether this phenomenon is consistent at the" individual item" level. This article evaluated the often assumed but inadequately tested…

This exploratory study investigated potential sources of setting accommodation resulting in differential item functioning (DIF) on math and reading assessments for examinees with varied learning characteristics. The examinees were those who participated in large-scale assessments and were tested in either standardized or accommodated testing…

A measurement model describes both the numerical and theoretical relationship between observed scores and the corresponding latent variables or constructs. Testing a measurement model across groups is required to determine if the tests scores are tapping the same constructs so that the same meaning can be ascribed to the scores. Contemporary tests…

The Motivation at Work Scale (MAWS) was developed in accordance with the multidimensional conceptualization of motivation postulated in self-determination theory. The authors examined the structure of the MAWS in a group of 1,644 workers in two different languages, English and French. Results obtained from these samples suggested that the…

The psychometric properties of scores from the Achievement Goal Questionnaire were examined in samples of Japanese (N = 326) and Canadian (N = 307) postsecondary students. Previous research found evidence of a four-factor structure of achievement goals in U.S. samples. Using confirmatory factor-analytic techniques, the authors found strong…

Motivation deficits are common in high school and constitute a significant problem for both students and teachers. The Academic Amotivation Inventory (AAI) was developed to measure the multidimensional nature of the academic amotivation construct (Legault, Green-Demers, & Pelletier, 2006). The present project further examined the consistency…

This study evaluated the concurrent validity of estimated Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales-Third Edition (WAIS-III) index scores using various one- and two-subtest combinations. Participants were the Canadian WAIS-III standardization sample. Using all possible one- and two-subtest combinations, an estimated Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), an…

A measurement model is invoked whenever a psychological interpretation is placed on test scores. When stated in detail, a measurement model provides a description of the numerical and theoretical relationship between observed scores and the corresponding latent variables or constructs. In this way, the hypothesis that similar meaning can be…

The purpose of this investigation was to test the age-related measurement invariance and temporal stability of the 13-item version of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC). Multigroup structural equation modeling of longitudinal data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey was used to examine the measurement invariance across 3…