RESEARCH LIBRARY

Educational Assessment

This study proposes four indices to quantify item influence and distinguishes them from other available item and test measures. We use simulation methods to evaluate and provide guidelines for interpreting each index, followed by a real data application to illustrate their use in practice. We discuss theoretical considerations regarding when influence presents a psychometric concern and other practical concerns such as how the indices function when reducing influence imbalance.

Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 37: 40-45

This simulation study demonstrates that the strength of item dependencies and the location of an examination systems’ cut‐points both influence the accuracy (i.e., the sensitivity and specificity) of examinee classifications. Practical implications of these results are discussed in terms of false positive and false negative classifications of test takers.