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Main Authors: Wallin, Gabriel, Chen, Yunxiao, Lee, Yi-Hsuan, Li, Xiaoou
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.22300
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author Wallin, Gabriel
Chen, Yunxiao
Lee, Yi-Hsuan
Li, Xiaoou
author_facet Wallin, Gabriel
Chen, Yunxiao
Lee, Yi-Hsuan
Li, Xiaoou
contents Educational assessments are valuable tools for measuring student knowledge and skills, but their validity can be compromised when test takers exhibit changes in response behavior due to factors such as time pressure. To address this issue, we introduce a novel latent factor model with change-points for item response data, designed to detect and account for individual-level shifts in response patterns during testing. This model extends traditional Item Response Theory (IRT) by incorporating person-specific change-points, which enables simultaneous estimation of item parameters, person latent traits, and the location of behavioral changes. We evaluate the proposed model through extensive simulation studies, which demonstrate its ability to accurately recover item parameters, change-point locations, and individual ability estimates under various conditions. Our findings show that accounting for change-points significantly reduces bias in ability estimates, particularly for respondents affected by time pressure. Application of the model to two real-world educational testing datasets reveals distinct patterns of change-point occurrence between high-stakes and lower-stakes tests, providing insights into how test-taking behavior evolves during the tests. This approach offers a more nuanced understanding of test-taking dynamics, with important implications for test design, scoring, and interpretation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_22300
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Latent Variable Model with Change-Points and Its Application to Time Pressure Effects in Educational Assessment
Wallin, Gabriel
Chen, Yunxiao
Lee, Yi-Hsuan
Li, Xiaoou
Methodology
Educational assessments are valuable tools for measuring student knowledge and skills, but their validity can be compromised when test takers exhibit changes in response behavior due to factors such as time pressure. To address this issue, we introduce a novel latent factor model with change-points for item response data, designed to detect and account for individual-level shifts in response patterns during testing. This model extends traditional Item Response Theory (IRT) by incorporating person-specific change-points, which enables simultaneous estimation of item parameters, person latent traits, and the location of behavioral changes. We evaluate the proposed model through extensive simulation studies, which demonstrate its ability to accurately recover item parameters, change-point locations, and individual ability estimates under various conditions. Our findings show that accounting for change-points significantly reduces bias in ability estimates, particularly for respondents affected by time pressure. Application of the model to two real-world educational testing datasets reveals distinct patterns of change-point occurrence between high-stakes and lower-stakes tests, providing insights into how test-taking behavior evolves during the tests. This approach offers a more nuanced understanding of test-taking dynamics, with important implications for test design, scoring, and interpretation.
title A Latent Variable Model with Change-Points and Its Application to Time Pressure Effects in Educational Assessment
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.22300