The study investigated the relative precision of ability estimates and mastery classifications resulting from fixed-form mastery achievement tests constructed using item response theory (IRT) optimal item selection and conventional item selection strategies. Two optimal item selection strategies, optimal and content optimal, and two conventional strategies, content representative and random, were used. The four item selection strategies were applied to four simulated data sets that differed in underlying dimensionality in order to investigate the effects of violations of the IRT unidimensionality assumption on ability estimation. Each data set represented simulated student responses to item banks consisting of 200 items, with 10 items measuring each of 20 objectives. / The results of the study indicated that optimal and content optimal item selection strategies provided higher levels of measurement precision at the mastery criterion than the conventional strategies, but the differences diminished sharply as data decreased in unidimensionality. Mastery classification error was lower for the optimal strategies for data that was unidimensional or generally unidimensional. Optimal and content optimal strategies demonstrated comparable measurement and classification precision. A small practical effect from the application of IRT optimal item selection to generally unidimensional data was implied by the results of the study. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0494. / Major Professor: Jacob G. Beard. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76852 |
| Contributors | Heidorn, Mark H., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 126 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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