The CEPA-English test is used for achievement, selection, and placement purposes. Since this test has heavily influences students academic futures, it is imperative to ensure that the test functions as intended and provides meaningful results. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the technical quality of the CEPA-English test in relation to Forms A and B. This study evaluated 1) the psychometric properties of the CEPA-English test, 2) the extent to which DIF occurs, 3) the comparability of Forms A and B, and 4) the amount of information provided at the cutoff score of 150, which is the mean of the test in the NAPO study.
The study sample included 9,496 students for Form A and 9,296 for Form B, taken from the 2007 administration. The results for both Forms A and B test data revealed that the unidimensional 3PL IRT model provided a better fit at both item and test levels than the 1PL or 2PL models and the assumptions of the 3PL model were met. However, the property of invariance of item parameters was not strictly met for Form A and to some extent for Form B.
Overall, the analyses revealed that the CEPA-English test demonstrated good psychometric properties, since in both forms, the majority of the items were of moderate difficulty. In addition, items moderately discriminated between high-performing and low-performing students, and both forms showed a high internal reliability. Yet, it was also found that the test could be improved by eliminating items with negative discrimination and adding easier items to gain more precise information at the cutoff score of 150. In addition, the test developer may want to evaluate items that misfit the 3PL model. Finally, while DIF items were detected between males and females, and between Arts and Sciences students, nevertheless a significant proportion of DIF items were flagged by school type, which may indicate curriculum differences across private, public, and home schools. Therefore, the test developer could evaluate items with a medium and large DIF to determine whether to revise or eliminate them from Forms A and B of the CEPA-English test.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-12102009-190539 |
| Date | 17 December 2009 |
| Creators | Daiban, Salma Ali |
| Contributors | Suzanne Lane, Feifei Ye, Lauren Terhorst, Clement A. Stone |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12102009-190539/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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