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ERIC Number: EJ911231
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1076-9986
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Prevalence and Magnitude of Paradoxical Results in Multidimensional Item Response Theory
Finkelman, Matthew D.; Hooker, Giles; Wang, Zhen
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, v35 n6 p744-761 Dec 2010
Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) has been proposed as a means to model the relation between examinee abilities and test responses. Three recent articles proved that when MIRT is used in ability estimation, an examinee's score could theoretically decrease due to a correct answer or increase due to an incorrect answer. The current article examines the extent to which such "paradoxical results" can arise in practice. In an operational test designed to measure two dimensions, a substantial percentage of paradoxical results occurred when using a MIRT model with a prior correlation of 0 between abilities. Assuming a positive correlation between abilities reduced the prevalence of paradoxical results but did not eliminate them entirely. Associated issues in test fairness are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 7 figures.)
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: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A