This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by van der Linden, W. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

A Latent Trait Look at Pretest-Posttest Validation of Criterion-referenced Test Items

Twente University of Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract

Since Cox and Vargas (1966) introduced their pretest-posttest validity index for criterion-referenced test items, a great number of additions and modifications have followed. All are based on the idea of gain scoring; that is, they are computed from the differences between proportions of pretest and posttest item responses. Although the method is simple and generally considered as the prototype of criterion-referenced item analysis, it has many and serious disadvantages. Some of these go back to the fact that it leads to indices based on a dual test administration- and population-dependent item p values. Others have to do with the global information about the discriminating power that these indices provide, the implicit weighting they suppose, and the meaningless maximization of posttest scores they lead to. Analyzing the pretest-posttest method from a latent trait point of view, it is proposed to replace indices like Cox and Vargas’ D_pp by an evaluation of the item information function for the mastery score. An empirical study was conducted to compare the differences in item selection between both methods.

Review of Educational Research, Vol. 51, No. 3, 379-402 (1981)
DOI: 10.3102/00346543051003379


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Hudson Surrogate indices for item information functions in criterion-referenced language testing Language Testing, July 1, 1993; 10(2): 171 - 191. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. J. Harris and M. J. Subkoviak Item Analysis: A Short-Cut Statistic for Mastery Tests Educational and Psychological Measurement, September 1, 1986; 46(3): 495 - 507. [Abstract]