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Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics

Marie Wiberg
Steven Culpepper
Rianne Janssen
Jorge González
Dylan Molenaar Editors

Quantitative
Psychology
83rd Annual Meeting of the
Psychometric Society, New York, NY
2018
Springer Proceedings in Mathematics &
Statistics

Volume 265
Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics

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Marie Wiberg Steven Culpepper
• •

Rianne Janssen Jorge González

• •

Dylan Molenaar
Editors

Quantitative Psychology
83rd Annual Meeting of the Psychometric
Society, New York, NY 2018

123
Editors
Marie Wiberg Steven Culpepper
Department of Statistics, Umeå School Department of Statistics
of Business, Economics and Statistics University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Umeå University Champaign, IL, USA
Umeå, Sweden
Jorge González
Rianne Janssen Facultad de Matematicas
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Sciences Santiago, Chile
KU Leuven
Leuven, Belgium

Dylan Molenaar
Department of Psychology
University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN 2194-1009 ISSN 2194-1017 (electronic)

Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics
ISBN 978-3-030-01309-7 ISBN 978-3-030-01310-3 (eBook)
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Preface

This volume represents presentations given at the 83rd annual meeting of the
Psychometric Society, organized by Columbia University and held in New York,
USA, during July 9–13, 2018. The meeting attracted 505 participants, and 286
papers were presented, of which 81 were part of a symposium. There were 106
poster presentations, 3 pre-conference workshops, 4 keynote presentations, 3
invited presentations, 2 career award presentations, 3 state-of-the-art presentations,
1 dissertation award winner, and 18 symposia.
Since the 77th meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska, Springer publishes the proceedings
volume from the annual meeting of the Psychometric Society to allow presenters to
make their ideas available quickly to the wider research community, while still
undergoing a thorough review process. The first six volumes of the meetings in
Lincoln, Arnhem, Madison, Beijing, Asheville, and Zurich were received suc-
cessfully, and we expect a successful reception of these proceedings too.
We asked the authors to use their presentation at the meeting as the basis of their
chapters, possibly extended with new ideas or additional information. The result is a
selection of 38 state-of-the-art chapters addressing a diverse set of psychometric
topics, including item response theory, multistage adaptive testing, and cognitive
diagnostic models.

Umeå, Sweden Marie Wiberg

Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA Steven Culpepper
Leuven, Belgium Rianne Janssen
Santiago, Chile Jorge González
Amsterdam, The Netherlands Dylan Molenaar

v
Contents

Explanatory Item Response Theory Models: Impact on Validity

and Test Development? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Susan Embretson
A Taxonomy of Item Response Models in Psychometrika . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Seock-Ho Kim, Minho Kwak, Meina Bian, Zachary Feldberg,
Travis Henry, Juyeon Lee, Ibrahim Burak Olmez, Yawei Shen,
Yanyan Tan, Victoria Tanaka, Jue Wang, Jiajun Xu and Allan S. Cohen
NUTS for Mixture IRT Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Rehab Al Hakmani and Yanyan Sheng
Controlling Acquiescence Bias with Multidimensional
IRT Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ricardo Primi, Nelson Hauck-Filho, Felipe Valentini, Daniel Santos
and Carl F. Falk
IRT Scales for Self-reported Test-Taking Motivation of Swedish
Students in International Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Denise Reis Costa and Hanna Eklöf
A Modification of the IRT-Based Standard Setting Method . . . . . . . . . . 65
Pilar Rodríguez and Mario Luzardo
Model Selection for Monotonic Polynomial Item Response Models . . . . 75
Carl F. Falk
TestGardener: A Program for Optimal Scoring and Graphical
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Juan Li, James O. Ramsay and Marie Wiberg
Item Selection Algorithms in Computerized Adaptive Test
Comparison Using Items Modeled with Nonparametric
Isotonic Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Mario Luzardo

vii
viii Contents

Utilizing Response Time in On-the-Fly Multistage

Adaptive Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Yang Du, Anqi Li and Hua-Hua Chang
Heuristic Assembly of a Classification Multistage Test
with Testlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Zhuoran Wang, Ying Li and Werner Wothke
Statistical Considerations for Subscore Reporting in Multistage
Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Yanming Jiang
Investigation of the Item Selection Methods in Variable-Length
CD-CAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Ya-Hui Su
A Copula Model for Residual Dependency in DINA Model . . . . . . . . . . 145
Zhihui Fu, Ya-Hui Su and Jian Tao
A Cross-Disciplinary Look at Non-cognitive Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Vanessa R. Simmreing, Lu Ou and Maria Bolsinova
An Attribute-Specific Item Discrimination Index in Cognitive
Diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Lihong Song and Wenyi Wang
Assessing the Dimensionality of the Latent Attribute Space
in Cognitive Diagnosis Through Testing for Conditional
Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Youn Seon Lim and Fritz Drasgow
Comparison of Three Unidimensional Approaches to Represent
a Two-Dimensional Latent Ability Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Terry Ackerman, Ye Ma and Edward Ip
Comparison of Hyperpriors for Modeling the Intertrait Correlation
in a Multidimensional IRT Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Meng-I Chang and Yanyan Sheng
On Extended Guttman Condition in High Dimensional Factor
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Kentaro Hayashi, Ke-Hai Yuan and Ge (Gabriella) Jiang
Equivalence Testing for Factor Invariance Assessment
with Categorical Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
W. Holmes Finch and Brian F. French
Canonical Correlation Analysis with Missing Values: A Structural
Equation Modeling Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Zhenqiu (Laura) Lu
Contents ix

Small-Variance Priors Can Prevent Detecting Important

Misspecifications in Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis . . . . . . . . . 255
Terrence D. Jorgensen, Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal,
Sunthud Pornprasermanit and Jaehoon Lee
Measuring the Heterogeneity of Treatment Effects with Multilevel
Observational Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Youmi Suk and Jee-Seon Kim
Specifying Multilevel Mixture Selection Models in Propensity
Score Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Jee-Seon Kim and Youmi Suk
The Effect of Using Principal Components to Create
Plausible Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Tom Benton
Adopting the Multi-process Approach to Detect Differential
Item Functioning in Likert Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Kuan-Yu Jin, Yi-Jhen Wu and Hui-Fang Chen
Detection of Differential Item Functioning via the Credible
Intervals and Odds Ratios Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Ya-Hui Su and Henghsiu Tsai
Psychometric Properties of the Highest and the Super
Composite Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Dongmei Li
A New Equating Method Through Latent Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Inés Varas, Jorge González and Fernando A. Quintana
Comparison of Two Item Preknowledge Detection Approaches
Using Response Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Chunyan Liu
Identifying and Comparing Writing Process Patterns
Using Keystroke Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Mo Zhang, Mengxiao Zhu, Paul Deane and Hongwen Guo
Modeling Examinee Heterogeneity in Discrete Option Multiple
Choice Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Nana Kim, Daniel M. Bolt, James Wollack, Yiqin Pan, Carol Eckerly
and John Sowles
Simulation Study of Scoring Methods for Various
Multiple-Multiple-Choice Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Sayaka Arai and Hisao Miyano
x Contents

Additive Trees for Fitting Three-Way (Multiple Source)

Proximity Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Hans-Friedrich Köhn and Justin L. Kern
A Comparison of Ideal-Point and Dominance Response Processes
with a Trust in Science Thurstone Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Samuel Wilgus and Justin Travis
Rumor Scale Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Joshua Chiroma Gandi
An Application of a Topic Model to Two Educational Assessments . . . . 449
Hye-Jeong Choi, Minho Kwak, Seohyun Kim, Jiawei Xiong,
Allan S. Cohen and Brian A. Bottge
Explanatory Item Response Theory
Models: Impact on Validity and Test
Development?

Susan Embretson

Abstract Many explanatory item response theory (IRT) models have been devel-
oped since Fischer’s (Acta Psychologica 37:359–374, 1973) linear logistic test model
was published. However, despite their applicability to typical test data, actual impact
on test development and validation has been limited. The purpose of this chapter is
to explicate the importance of explanatory IRT models in the context of a frame-
work that interrelates the five aspects of validity (Embretson in Educ Meas Issues
Pract 35, 6–22, 2016). In this framework, the response processes aspect of validity
impacts other aspects. Studies on a fluid intelligence test are presented to illustrate
the relevancy of explanatory IRT models to validity, as well as to test development.

Keywords Item response theory · Explanatory models · Validity

1 Introduction

Since Fischer (1973) introduced the linear logistic test model (LLTM), many addi-
tional explanatory IRT models have been developed to estimate the impact of item
complexity on item parameters. These models include the linear partial credit model
(LPCM; Fischer & Ponocny, 1995), the linear logistic test model with response error
term (LLTM-R; Janssen, Schepers, & Peres, 2004), the constrained two parame-
ter logistic model (2PL-Constrained; Embretson, 1999) and the Rasch facet model
(Linacre, 1989). Explanatory IRT models also can include covariates for both items
and persons, as well as within-person interactions (De Boeck & Wilson, 2004).
Several models can detect strategy differences between persons, such as mixture
distribution models (Rost, 1990; Rost & von Davier, 1995) and mixed models that
include response time to detect strategies (Molenaar & De Boeck, 2018). Further,
hierarchical models can be used in an explanatory fashion, such as item family models
(Glas, van der Linden & Geerlings, 2010) and a criterion-referenced model (Janssen,
Tuerlinckx, Meulder & De Boeck, 2000). Multidimensional IRT models with defined

S. Embretson (B)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30328, USA
e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

M. Wiberg et al. (eds.), Quantitative Psychology, Springer Proceedings
in Mathematics & Statistics 265, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01310-3_1
2 S. Embretson

dimensions, such as the bifactor MIRT (Reise, 2012) or the multicomponent latent
trait model (MLTM; Embretson, 1984, 1997) also can be used as explanatory IRT
models. The Handbook of Item Response Theory (van der Linden, 2016) includes
several explanatory models. Janssen (2016) notes that explanatory IRT models have
been applied to many tests, ranging from mathematics, reading and reasoning to
personality and emotions.
However, despite the existence of these models for several decades and their
applicability to typical test data, actual impact on test development and validation has
been limited. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of explanatory
IRT models in test development. Studies on the development of a fluid intelligence
test are presented to illustrate the use of explanatory IRT models in test design and
validation. Prior to presenting the studies, background on the validity concept and a
framework that unifies the various aspects are presented.

1.1 Test Validity Framework

In the current Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (2014), validity
is conceptualized as a single type (construct validity) with five aspects. First, the
content aspect of construct validity is the representation of skills, knowledge and
attributes on the test. It is supported by specified test content, such as blueprints
that define item skills, knowledge or attribute representation, as well as specifica-
tions of test administration and scoring conditions. Second, the response processes
aspect of validity consists of evidence on the cognitive activities engaged in by the
examinees. These cognitive activities are assumed to be essential to the meaning of
the construct measured by a test. The Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing describes several direct methods to observe examinees’ processing on test
items, such as eye-trackers movements, videos and concurrent and retrospective ver-
bal reports/observations, as well as response times to items or the whole test. Third,
the internal structure aspect of construct validity includes psychometric properties
of a test as relevant to the intended construct. Thus, internal consistency reliability,
test dimensionality and differential item functioning (DIF) are appropriate types of
evidence. Item selection, as part of test design, has a direct impact on internal struc-
ture. Fourth, the relationship to other variables aspect concerns how the test relates
to other traits and criteria, as well as to examinee background variables (i.e., demo-
graphics, prior experience, etc.). Evidence relevant to this aspect should be consistent
with the goals of measurement. Fifth, the consequences aspect of validity concerns
how test use has adverse impact on different groups of examinees. While the test
may not have significant DIF, studies may nonetheless show that the test has adverse
impact if used for selection or placement. Adverse impact is particularly detrimental
to test quality if based on construct-irrelevant aspects of performance.
The various aspects of validity can be conceptualized as a unified sys-
tem with causal interrelationships (Embretson, 2017). Figure 1 organizes the
five aspects into two general areas, internal and external, which concern test
Explanatory Item Response Theory Models … 3

Fig. 1 Unified framework for validity

meaning and test significance, respectively. Thus, the content, response processes
and internal structure aspects are relevant to defining the meaning of the construct
while the relationships to other variables and consequences aspects define the sig-
nificance of the test. Notice that the content and response processes aspect drive
the other aspects causally in this framework. Importantly, these two aspects can be
manipulated in test development. That is, item design, test specifications and testing
conditions can impact test meaning. Thus, understanding the relationship between
test content and response processes can be crucial in test development to measure
the intended construct.
Unfortunately, the methods for understanding response processes described in
the Standards have substantial limitations. Both eye-tracker data and talk aloud data
are typically expensive to collect and analyze as well as impacting the nature of
processing for examinees. Further, unless elaborated in the context of a model, the
utility of response time data may be limited to identifying guessing or inappropriate
responses. Importantly, explanatory IRT modeling can be applied to standard test data
with no impact on examinees responses. Further, such models permit hypotheses to
be tested about the nature of response processes through relationships of item content
features and item responses.

2 Explanatory IRT Models in Item Design: Examples

from ART

The Abstract Reasoning Test (ART) was developed in the context of research on
response processes. ART is a test of fluid intelligence used to predict learning and
performance in a variety of settings (Embretson, 2017). ART consists of matrix
completion items as shown in Fig. 2. In these items, the examinee must identify the
figure that completes the matrix based on the relationships between the figures across
the rows and down the columns.
4 S. Embretson

Fig. 2 Example of an ART item

2.1 Theory of Response Processes on Matrix Problems

Consistent with the Carpenter, Just and Shell’s (1990) theory, it was hypothesized
that examinees process the various elements individually in the matrix entries to
find relationships. According to the theory, processing complexity is driven by the
number of unique objects (as counted in the first entry) and memory load in finding
relationships. Memory load depends on both the number and types of relationships,
which are hypothesized to be ordered by complexity as follows: 1 = Constant in
a Row (or column), the same figure appears in a row; 2 = Pairwise Progressions,
figures change in the same way in each row; 3 = Figure Addition/Subtraction, the
third column results from overlaying the first and second columns and subtracting
common figures; 4 = Distribution of Three, a figure appears once and only once
in each row and column and 5 = Distribution of Two, one figure is systematically
missing in each row and column. Figure 2 illustrates relationships #1, #4 and #5
(see key on right) and Fig. 4 illustrates relationship #3. Relationship #2 could be
illustrated by a change in object size across rows. Carpenter et al. (1990) postulate
that these relationships are tried sequentially by examinees, such that Constant in a
Row is considered before Pairwise Progressions and so forth. Thus, the Memory Load
score is highest for the Distribution of Two relationships. Figure 2 shows numerical
impact on Memory Load for three types of relationships. The difficulty of solving
matrix problems also is hypothesized to depend on perceptual complexity, which
is determined by Distortion, Fusion or Integration of objects in an entry. Figure 2
has none of these sources of perceptual complexity while Fig. 4 illustrates object
integration in the matrix on the right side. Each matrix item can be scored for the
processing and perceptual complexity variables. Item difficulty is postulated to result
from these variables because they drive cognitive complexity.
Explanatory Item Response Theory Models … 5

2.2 Explanatory Modeling of Response Processes on ART

Matrix Problems

An explanatory modeling of ART item difficulty results from applying LLTM to

item response data, using the scores for matrix problem complexity. LLTM is given
as follows:

exp(θj − k τk qik + τ0 )
P(θ) =  (1)
1 + exp(θj − k τk qik + τ0 )

where qik is the score for item i on attribute k, τk is the weight of attribute k in item
difficulty and τ0 is an intercept. Finally, θj is the ability of person j.
LLTM was applied to model item responses for ART items, scored for the two
predictors of processing complexity and the three predictors of perceptual complexity.
For example, a sample of 705 Air Force recruits were administered a form of ART
with 30 items. The delta statistic, which is a likelihood ratio index of fit (Embretson,
1999) similar in magnitude to a multiple correlation, indicated that LLTM had strong
fit to the data ( = .78). The processing complexity variables had the strongest impact,
especially memory load, which supports the theory.

2.3 Impact of Explanatory Modeling on Item Design

for Matrix Problems

These results and the scoring system had direct impact on item and test design for
ART. An automatic item generator was developed for ART items. Abstract structures
were specified to define the objects within each cell of the 3 × 3 display and the
response options. Types of relationships, as described above, specifies the changes
in objects (e.g., circles, arrows, squares, etc.) and/or their properties (e.g., shading,
borders, distortion, size, etc.) across columns and rows. LLTM results on military
samples indicated high predictability of item difficulty by the generating structure (
= .90) and continued prediction by the five variables defining cognitive complexity
( = .79).

3 Strategy Modeling in Test Design: Example from ART

Examinee differences in item solving strategies and potential impact on the various
aspects of validity was examined in two studies. In Study 1, ART was adminis-
tered with the original brief instructions. In Study 2, ART was administered with an
expanded version of the instructions with examples of each type of relationship. In
both studies, strategies were examined through mixture modeling.
6 S. Embretson

3.1 Mixture Modeling to Identify Latent Classes

The mixture Rasch model (Rost & von Davier, 1995) can be applied to identify
classes of examinees that vary in item difficulty ordering, which is postulated to
arise from applying different item solving strategies. The mixture Rasch model is
given as follows:

exp(θjg − βig )
P(θ) = g πg (2)
1 + exp(θjg − βig )

where βig is the difficulty of item i in class g, θjg is the ability of person j in class g
and πg is the probability of class g. Classes are identified empirically to maximize
model fit. However, class interpretation can be examined by follow-up explanatory
modeling (e.g., applying LLTM within classes) or by comparing external correlates
of ability.

3.2 Study 1

Method. A form of ART with 30 items was administered to 803 Air Force recruits
who were completing basic training. The ART instructions concerned the nature of
matrix problems as defined by relationships in the row and columns in the 3 × 3
matrices. However, the scope of relationships that could be involved was not covered.
ART was administered without time limits. Item parameters were estimated with
the Rasch model and with the mixture Rasch model. In both cases the mean item
parameter was set to zero.
Results from other tests were available on the examinees, including the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).
Results. The test had moderate difficulty for the sample based on raw scores
(M = 18.097, SD = 5.784) and latent trait estimates (M = .636, SD = 1.228).
Racial-ethnic comparisons were between groups with N > 50. The latent trait
estimates were significant (F2,743 = 8.722, p < .001, η2 = .023). Standardized
differences of (d = .452) for African Americans and (d = .136) for Hispanics were
observed as compared to Caucasians.
The mixture Rasch model was applied with varying numbers of classes. Table 1
shows that while the log likelihood index (−2lnL) decreased successively from one to
three classes, the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) increased for three classes.
Thus, the two-class solution, with 68.7 and 31.2% of examinees in Class 1 and
Class 2 respectively, was selected for further study. The latent trait means differed
significantly between classes (F1,801 = 439.195, p < .001), with Class 1 (M = 1.143,
SD = .984) scoring higher than Class 2 (M = −.413, SD  = .865). Significant racial
ethnic differences were observed between the classes χ21,695 = 12.958, p < .001
, with 75.0% of Caucasians and 57.3% of African-Americans in Class 1.
Explanatory Item Response Theory Models … 7

Table 1 Mixture Rasch modeling results

Number of classes Parameters −2lnL BIC
Study 1
1 31 25,472 25,680
2 62 25,146 25,567
3 93 25,044 25,680
Study 2
1 33 13,222 13,423
2 67 13,068 13,477
3 101 13,001 13,616

Table 2 LLTM weights, standard errors and t value by class

Complexity source Class 1 (df = 572,  = .820) Class 2 (df = 229,  = .809)
Weight SE t value Weight SE t value
Unique elements .1922 .0113 16.95* .2681 .0185 14.50*
Memory load .1851 .0049 37.49* .0926 .0077 12.09*
Integration .4543 .0454 10.00* .5502 .0622 8.85*
Distortion .7434 .0654 11.36* −.0121 .1054 −.12
Fusion .3150 .0508 6.20* .0549 .0723 .76
Intercept −4.1809 .1018 −41.08* −2.2618 .1285 −17.61*
*p < .01

LLTM was applied within each class to determine the relative impact of the
sources of cognitive complexity. While the overall prediction, as indicated by the
 statistic (Embretson, 1999) shown on Table 2, was strong for both classes, the
LLTM weights for cognitive complexity differed. Typically, the strongest predictor
is Memory Load; however, the weight for Memory Load was significantly higher in
Class 1. Unique Elements was the strongest predictor in Class 2 and two of three
perceptual complexity variables were not significant.
Item difficulty also was modeled by the sources of memory load from the five
types of relationships. It was found that the number of Figure-Addition relationships
was correlated negatively for Class 1 (r = −.211) and positively for Class 2 (r =
.216). Items with Figure-Addition relationships mostly more difficult for Class 2 (see
Fig. 3).
Finally, ART trait estimates were correlated with four factors of ASVAB: Ver-
bal, Quantitative, Perceptual Speed and Technical Information. Although significant
positive correlations were found with all factors except Perceptual Speed for Class
1, no significant correlations with ASVAB factors were found for Class 2.
Discussion. Two classes of examinees, with varying patterns of item difficulty,
were identified on the ART for fluid intelligence. Class 2 was characterized by sub-
stantially lower trait levels and lack of significant correlations with other aptitude
8 S. Embretson

Fig. 3 Item difficulties by class

measures (i.e., ASVAB factors). Further, item difficulty was less predictable for Class
2 from the memory load associated with ART items. An analysis of the relationship
types that contribute to memory load indicated that items with Figure-Addition rela-
tionships had substantially higher difficulty in Class 2. A possible explanation is that
examinees in this class were unfamiliar with the Figure-Addition relationships and
applied the much harder Distribution of Two relationship. Figure 4 shows examples
of these relationships. Notice that the item on the left requires two Distribution of
Two relationships (i.e., changes in the hourglass and house figures), as well as a Con-
stant in a Row (triangles). The item on the right, however, can be solved by either
three Figure-Addition (colum 3 is the substraction of column 2 from column 1) or
three Distribution of Two relationships.
Explanatory Item Response Theory Models … 9

Fig. 4 Two ART items varying in distribution of two relationships

3.3 Study 2

The application of the mixture Rasch model in Study 1 identified a class of examinees
with lower scores and different patterns of item difficulty that may be based on
unfamiliarity with the possible types of relationships that can occur in ART. In this
study, instructions were added to demonstrate each type of relationship.
Method. The examinees were 444 police recruits who were enrolled in basic
training in law enforcement. A version of ART with 32 items included extended
instructions in which all types of relationships were presented and illustrated. These
instructions involved approximately eight additional minutes of testing time. For a
sub-sample of examinees, training scores and scores on another test of fluid intelli-
gence were available.
Results. The test was somewhat easy for the sample based on raw scores (M =
21.459, SD = 4.779) and latent trait estimates (M = 1.152, SD = 1.203). As for Study
1, racial-ethnic comparisons were made between groups with N > 50. The latent
trait estimates were significant (F2,406 = 3.099, p = .016, η2 = .015). Compared to
Caucasians, standardized differences of (d = .276) for African Americans and (d =
.075) for Hispanics were observed.
The mixture Rasch model was applied to determine the number of classes. Table 1
shows that while the log likelihood index (−2lnL) decreased somewhat from one to
two classes, the BIC index increased. Thus, the single class model is the preferred
solution. Finally, for a subsample of 144 recruits, scores for a six-week course in
legal issues for police officers were available. Training scores were correlated more
highly with ART (r = .333, p < .001) than with the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence
Test (CCF; r = .211, p = .009).
Discussion. A single item-solving strategy is supported for ART when adminis-
tered with extended instructions. That is, a single class was supported with mixture
Rasch modeling. Further, the magnitude of the racial-ethnic differences was also
substantially smaller in this study. Finally, ART correlated more highly with training
than a similar non-verbal intelligence test, which has very short instructions.
10 S. Embretson

4 Summary

The purpose of this chapter was to illustrate how using explanatory IRT models can
contribute to the test development process and impact validity. The mixture Rasch
model identified two classes of examinees on the ART with different item difficulty
orders. The LLTM indicated strong predictability of item performance from cogni-
tive complexity variables; however, the weights varied by class, supporting strategy
differences. Items involving a certain type of relationship were relatively more dif-
ficult in the lower scoring class. Further, there was an undesirable impact of the
second class on the external relationships aspect of validity; ART did not correlate
with other aptitude tests and racial-ethnic differences were also found. A redesigned
ART, that include extended instructions on types of relationships, had a single class,
supporting common problem-solving strategies. Further, racial ethnic differences
were substantially smaller on the redesigned ART and ART had stronger correla-
tions with achievement than a similar test of fluid intelligence. Thus, two explana-
tory IRT models were used to inform the responses processes aspect of validity for
a fluid intelligence test. The redesigned test to optimize responses processes had
smaller racial-ethnic differences than the previous ART and more desirable external
relationships than the CCF, a similar test of fluid intelligence.

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of adaptive testing (pp. 289–314). New York: Springer.
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Rost, J. (1990). Rasch models in latent classes: An integration of two approaches to item analysis.
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van der Linden, W. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of item response theory: Models, statistics and appli-
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von Davier, M., & Rost, J. (1995). Polytomous mixed Rasch models. In G. Fischer & I. Molenaar
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A Taxonomy of Item Response Models
in Psychometrika

Seock-Ho Kim, Minho Kwak, Meina Bian, Zachary Feldberg,

Travis Henry, Juyeon Lee, Ibrahim Burak Olmez, Yawei Shen, Yanyan Tan,
Victoria Tanaka, Jue Wang, Jiajun Xu and Allan S. Cohen

Abstract The main aim of this study is to report on the frequency of which different
item response theory models are employed in Psychometrika articles. Articles rele-
vant to item response theory modeling in Psychometrika for 82 years (1936–2017)
are sorted based on the classification framework by Thissen and Steinberg (Item re-
sponse theory: Parameter estimation techniques. Dekker, New York, 1986). A sorting
of the item response theory models used by authors of 367 research and review ar-
ticles in Volumes 1–82 of Psychometrika indicates that the usual unidimensional
parametric item response theory models for dichotomous items were employed in
51% of the articles. The usual unidimensional parametric item response theory mod-
els for polytomous items were employed in 21% of the articles. The multidimensional
item response theory models were employed in 11% of the articles. Familiarity with
each of more complicated item response theory models may gradually increase the
percentage of accessible articles. Another classification based on recent articles is
proposed and discussed. Guiding principles for the taxonomy are also discussed.

Keywords Item response theory · Models · Psychometrika · Rasch model ·

Taxonomy

1 Introduction

In this study, we report on the frequency of use of item response theory models in Psy-
chometrika classified using the taxonomy of Thissen and Steinberg (1986) to answer
the following questions: Will knowledge of a few basic item response theory models,
such as the Rasch model and the three-parameter logistic model, assist readers in
recognizing the modeling component of a high percentage of research articles that
are relevant to item response theory modeling in Psychometrika? Which additional

S.-H. Kim (B) · M. Kwak · M. Bian · Z. Feldberg · T. Henry · J. Lee · I. B. Olmez ·

Y. Shen · Y. Tan · V. Tanaka · J. Wang · J. Xu · A. S. Cohen
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7143, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
URL: https://coe.uga.edu/directory/people/shkim

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 13

M. Wiberg et al. (eds.), Quantitative Psychology, Springer Proceedings
in Mathematics & Statistics 265, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01310-3_2
14 S.-H. Kim et al.

item response theory models are used most often and therefore could be added most
profitably to the psychometric and educational measurement background of readers?
To aid psychometricians, measurement specialists, and applied statisticians who are
continuing their own psychometric training, as well as persons designing courses in
psychometrics and educational measurement for advanced undergraduate and gradu-
ate students, we report on modeling components of the item response theory relevant
research and review articles in Psychometrika between 1936 and 2017.
In their taxonomy, Thissen and Steinberg (1986) classified item response theory
models into four distinct groups based on assumptions and constraints on the parame-
ters: binary models, difference models, divided-by-total models, and left-side-added
models. They classified, for example, the two-parameter normal ogive model and the
Rasch model as the binary models; Samejima’s graded response model in normal
ogive and logistic forms as the difference model; Bock’s nominal response model and
Master’s partial credit model as the divide-by-total models; and Birnbaum’s three-
parameter logistic model as the left-side-added model (see Thissen & Steinberg,
1986, and references therein). In this paper, we present a more refined classification
of the item response theory models based on the type of data analyzed.

2 Methods

This study analyzed Volumes 1 through 82 (March 1936 through December 2017) of
Psychometrika and included all articles identified in the table of contents as Articles,
Notes, Comments, Brief Comments, Tables, and Presidential Addresses. Excluded
were Errata, Announcements, Abstracts, Book Reviews, Rules, Obituaries, Reports,
Minutes, Notices, Constitution, and Lists of Members. For example, the excluded
portions included: Volume 1, Issue 2, Pages 61–64 that contained the List of 150
Members of the Psychometric Society; Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 81–88 that con-
tained the List of 235 Members of the Psychometric Society; and Volume 2, Issue 1,
Pages 67–72 that presented the Abstracts of 11 papers to be presented at the District
Meeting of the Psychometric Society, The University of Chicago, on Saturday,
April 3, 1987.

2.1 Review Process

Initially, 2837 articles were screened and identified from these volumes, and a group
of measurement specialists eventually selected 367 articles for detailed review. The
367 articles were selected for their relevance to various models in item response
theory. At least two measurement specialists independently reviewed each of the
367 articles for their use of item response theory models and completed a checklist
A Taxonomy of Item Response Models in Psychometrika 15

documenting topics and models. The excluded articles received a second but briefer
review for the presence or absence of the use of item response theory models in the
procedures and techniques employed in the study. The reviewer read the abstracts,
the methods sections, and all tables, and scanned other sections of the articles for
the pertinent information. All reviewers were faculty members or graduate students
trained in both quantitative methodology and applied statistics.
For the 367 articles receiving detailed review, any discrepancies between the two
or more independent reviewers were discussed and resolved. Discrepancies were
found initially for some of these articles. Another careful reading of these discrepant
articles by the reviewers indicated that nearly all errors involved overlooking the
methods section and the procedures and techniques used in the article.
For the 367 articles relevant to item response theory modeling in this study, we
first partitioned these papers into theoretical and application types. Due to the char-
acteristic of Psychometrika as a leading journal in psychometrics, the articles except
for four were classified as theoretical.

2.2 Analysis of Models Used

We determined the frequency of the item response theory models in the 367 journal
articles. Articles were sorted based on the classification framework by Thissen and
Steinberg (1986). In addition to performing the simple quantification (number and
percentage of articles using a method), we assessed how much a reader’s acquaintance
with additional item response theory models would improve his or her psychometric
repertoire. In trying to obtain a definite measure, we were handicapped by the lack of
a natural order for learning and applying these models. For the analysis, we chose the
order that maximally increased the percentage of articles for which a reader would
be acquainted with the item response theory models employed if he or she learned
one more item response theory model.
We began this analysis by assuming that there are three major ordered classes
of the item response theory models; (1) unidimensional parametric item response
theory models for dichotomous items, (2) unidimensional parametric item response
theory models for polytomous items, and (3) multidimensional item response theory
models. In a sense, the order was thus determined by the complexity of models as
well as modeling data gathered. This ordering, though useful, intellectually reason-
able, and empirically based, is nevertheless arbitrary. In particular, it ignores the
fundamental role of broad psychometric concepts used in the article such as adap-
tive testing, differential item functioning, equating and linking, parameter estimation
techniques, test scoring, and so on in determining the extent of a reader’s psychome-
tric understanding. Furthermore, it may not be the best order for learning about the
item response theory models.
16 S.-H. Kim et al.

3 Results

Figure 1 shows the time plots of the number of articles in Psychometrika as well as
the number of item response theory relevant articles in each volume from 1936 to
2017. The average of the number of articles in each volume was 34.6 and its standard
deviation was 8.6. The five number summary was (19, 28.8, 33, 41, 59). There was
a steady increasing pattern in terms of the number of articles in each volume. The
average of the number of item response theory relevant articles in each volume was
4.2 and its standard deviation was 4.3. The five number summary was (0, 0, 2.5, 8,
17). A rapid increase occurred between the 70’s and the 90’s for the number of item
response theory relevant articles in each volume.
Figure 2 shows the time plot of the proportion of the item response theory relevant
articles in each volume from 1936 to 2017. The average of the proportion was .11
and its standard deviation was .11. The five number summary was (0, 0, .07, .21,
.53). The proportion was rapidly increased between the 70’s and the 90’s.
Table 1 presents the number of articles that used different item response theory
models by decades from the 1930s (n.b., the 1930s starts from 1936) to the 2010s (n.b.,
the 2010s are not finished yet). The bottom line contains the total number of unique
(i.e., not the column sum) item response theory relevant articles by decades. The
far right-hand-side column of Table 1 shows the frequency of item response theory
models found in Volumes 1 through 82 of Psychometrika. Under the assumptions
outlined above, we analyzed the frequencies of the classes of item response theory
models employed in the journal articles.
The followings are the model acronyms in Table 1: One-Parameter Logistic (1PL),
One-Parameter Normal (1PN), Two-Parameter Logistic (2PL), Two-Parameter Nor-
mal (2PN), Nonparametric (NON), Three-Parameter Logistic (3PL), Three-Parameter

Fig. 1 Time plots of the

60

number of articles in blue

and the number of item
50

response theory relevant

articles in red
Number of Articles
40
30
20
10
0

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Year
A Taxonomy of Item Response Models in Psychometrika 17

Fig. 2 Time plot of the

1.0
proportion of item response
theory relevant articles

0.8
Proportion of IRT Articles
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Year

Normal (3PN), Two-Parameter of Choppin (2PC), Four-Parameter Logistic (4PL),

Multiple Choice of Samejima (MCS), Multiple Choice of Thissen and Steinberg
(MCTS), Multiple Choice (MC), Graded Response (GR), Partical Credit (PC), Rat-
ing Scale (RS), Generalized Partial Credit (GPC), Nominal Categories (NC), Bino-
mial Trials (BT), Poisson Counts (POC), Continuation Ration (CR), Linear Logistic
Test Model (LLTM), and Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT).
Table 1 shows many articles reviewed relied on some type of unidimensional
dichotomous item response theory models. These articles used the Rasch model
most frequently by 107 out of 367 articles. The one-parameter logistic model with a
common item discrimination parameter was used in 15 articles. The two-parameter
logistic model was used by 60 out of 367 articles, and the two-parameter normal ogive
model was used by 37 out of 367 articles. The three-parameter logistic model was
used quite frequently, that is, 82 out of 367 articles. The polytomous item response
theory models are generally used less frequently (25 for the graded response model,
21 for the partial credit model, 10 for the rating scale model, 5 for the generalized
partial credit model, and 7 for the nominal categories model).
It can be noticed that the various taxonomic classifications of the item response
theory models defined in Table 1 were not frequently employed in the articles re-
viewed. The impression is that only limited cases of the item response theory models
or the combinations of the models have been employed in Psychometrika, although
this finding does depend on the initial taxonomy of the item response theory models.
Articles published recently within about 20 years that used item response theory
models were more complicated both mathematically and statistically than other pre-
viously published articles in Psychometrika. Theoretical research studies based on
more complicated item response theory models require a deeper understanding of
and more extensive training in psychometrics and applied statistics.
Table 1 Item response theory models from psychometrica articles
18

Taxonomy type Model Period

1930s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 2000s 10s Row total

Binary Rasch 7 33 27 15 25 107

1PL 6 2 1 6 15
1PN
2PL 1 2 11 16 9 21 60
2PN 1 3 3 5 2 5 4 8 6 37
NON 1 7 9 6 23
Left-side-added (LSA) 3PL 6 20 19 14 23 82
3PN 1 1
2PC
4PL 1 1 2
LSA-DBT MCS
Model 6
MCTS 1 1
MC 1 1 2
Difference GR 2 4 2 9 2 6 25
Divided-by-total (DBT) PC 5 7 3 6 21
RS 1 5 1 2 2 10
GPC 4 1 5
NC 2 1 1 3 7
BT
POC 2 1 3
CR 2 1 3
Extension LLTM 3 2 6 1 12
MIRT 1 6 10 17 34
Testlet 1 1 2
Multilevel 3 3 6
Other 5 4 9 5 23
Unique articles No. 1 3 3 7 23 70 85 78 97 367
S.-H. Kim et al.
A Taxonomy of Item Response Models in Psychometrika 19

A sorting of the item response theory models used by authors of the 367 articles
in Psychometrika indicates that a reader who is familiar with the usual unidimen-
sional parametric item response theory models for dichotomous items (e.g., the Rasch
model, the one-parameter logistic model, the two-parameter logistic or normal ogive
model, and the three-parameter logistic or normal ogive model) may have potential
access to 186 out of 367 articles (51%). Note that the number 186 was not obtained
from Table 1 but based on the separate counting of the articles. Note also that the
numbers in Table 1 are not mutually exclusive because, for example, an article might
employ two or more different item response theory models together. It should also
be noted that the accessibility here implies the recognition of the model used in the
article instead of comprehension of the entire contents of the article. Because the uni-
dimensional parametric item response theory models for polytomous items (e.g., the
graded response model, the partial credit model, the rating scale model, the nominal
categories model, and the generalized partial credit model) were employed in 79 out
of 367 articles, a reader who is familiar with the two classes of the unidimensional
item response theory models may have potential access to cumulatively 72% of the
journal articles. Familiarity with each of the more complicated item response theory
models may gradually increase the percentage of accessible articles. If one knew
the multidimensional item response theory models in addition to the unidimensional
item response theory models, one would access 38 articles, or 83 cumulative per cent
of the number of articles reviewed. However, more complicated models (e.g., non-
parametric models, testlet models, mixture models, multilevel models, etc.) were
concurrently used in the psychometric research journal articles together with the
usual parametric models for the dichotomous and polytomous items. Hence, 64 out
of 367 (17%) of the articles cannot be fully accessible in terms of item response
theory if a reader is familiar with only these parametric models.
Although some classifications were obviously quite narrowly defined, others such
as multidimensional item response theory models and nonparametric models were
not. Furthermore, these latter models, though cited infrequently in the articles, may
be more frequently used in other application fields and may become more common
in future psychometric research.
The selected articles relevant to item response theory modeling in Table 1 were
sorted based on the classification framework by Thissen and Steinberg (1986). An-
other recent classification based on Van der Linden (2016a), however, can be used,
and a more refined subclassification (e.g., Nering & Ostini, 2010) can also be consid-
ered. Note that articles may be further sorted by the parameter estimation methods
(e.g., Baker & Kim, 2004; De Ayala, 2009) as well as the computer programs used to
implement the estimation methods (e.g., Hambleton, Swaminathan, & Roger, 1991,
pp. 159–160; Van der Linden, 2016b).
Psychometric researchers interested in continuing their own training in method-
ology should find the frequencies of various item response theory models presented
in Table 1 helpful in identifying the knowledge of which item response theory mod-
els they should be aware. This paper reviews item response theory models with the
perspective of a general reader, and no attempt has been made to identify a hierar-
20 S.-H. Kim et al.

chical structure of the item response theory models, which may vary for researchers
in different psychometric research areas within different specialties.

4 Discussion

Except for general item response theory review articles in Psychometrika, not many
item response theory models were used simultaneously in each research article. As
noted by Popham (1993) and Bock (1997) there are several unexpected consequences
of using item response theory models in the analysis of testing data. Only a limited
number of item response theory experts can fully understand what is happening, for
example, in the process of test calibration. Also, there are many different directions
of the development of item response theory so that even experts in the item response
theory field may not be able to comprehend the full scope of the theory and applica-
tions of item response theory. It is unfortunate that the item response theory models
and item response theory itself are too difficult to understand for scholars with only
limited statistical and mathematical training. Nevertheless, item response theory does
occupy and may continue to occupy major portions of lively and productive future
development in psychometric research.
Understanding some of the item response theory relevant articles in Psychometrika
definitely requires more than the familiarity of the item response theory models. For
example, training in modern Bayesian statistics for which the Bayesian posterior
approximation methods with data augmentation techniques are taught is needed for
reading several articles. Note that the normal ogive models were frequently employed
in data augmentation techniques by some authors who are themselves prepared for
understanding more advanced research articles.
It should be noted that the numerical measure of ability or proficiency is the ul-
timate, eventual entity that is pursued in item response theory modeling. In other
applications, the item parameters are something needed assuming that persons are
randomly sampled from a population. In item response theory with such a sampling
concept, the item parameters are the structural parameters while the person param-
eters are incidental parameters. The concept of invariance of ability with regard to
the sets of item parameters (i.e., persons ability can be measured with different sets
of items) as well as invariance of item characteristics with regard to the groups of
persons (i.e., item characteristics can be obtained with different groups of persons)
are crucial in item response theory. Many investigations of structural parameters
such as measurement invariance or differential item functioning studies are stud-
ies of structural parameters. Note that measurement invariance is a preliminary to
studying invariant person measures, and as such, needs to be seen as a process within
measurement validation (Kane, 2006). Hence, item response theory models and the
required parameters to estimate ought to be scrutinized in conjunction with specific
application areas.
In the field of educational assessment, items can be in the forms of both
dichotomously-scored and polytomously-scored. In most large scale assessment pro-
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