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Main Authors: Ma, Yawen, Ushakova, Anastasia, Cain, Kate, Wallin, Gabriel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.16031
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author Ma, Yawen
Ushakova, Anastasia
Cain, Kate
Wallin, Gabriel
author_facet Ma, Yawen
Ushakova, Anastasia
Cain, Kate
Wallin, Gabriel
contents To extend cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) to longitudinal settings, stepwise approaches that integrate a CDM model with a latent transition model and covariates are widely used due to their flexibility. Previous research has shown that stepwise estimation can yield biased results, motivating classification-error correction as a means of improving inference over uncorrected stepwise procedures. In this study, we evaluate a unified Bayesian dynamic cognitive diagnostic model that jointly estimates measurement (item parameters, latent attribute profiles) and transition components (transition parameters) in longitudinal settings with covariates. We compare this joint approach with the bias-corrected stepwise latent transition CDM through a Monte Carlo study. Results demonstrate that joint modeling provides more accurate recovery of transition parameters, particularly under limited test length and sample size, underscoring its advantages for longitudinal diagnostic analysis and offering practical guidance for applied researchers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_16031
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Comparison of Joint and Stepwise Dynamic Cognitive Diagnostic Models
Ma, Yawen
Ushakova, Anastasia
Cain, Kate
Wallin, Gabriel
Methodology
Applications
To extend cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) to longitudinal settings, stepwise approaches that integrate a CDM model with a latent transition model and covariates are widely used due to their flexibility. Previous research has shown that stepwise estimation can yield biased results, motivating classification-error correction as a means of improving inference over uncorrected stepwise procedures. In this study, we evaluate a unified Bayesian dynamic cognitive diagnostic model that jointly estimates measurement (item parameters, latent attribute profiles) and transition components (transition parameters) in longitudinal settings with covariates. We compare this joint approach with the bias-corrected stepwise latent transition CDM through a Monte Carlo study. Results demonstrate that joint modeling provides more accurate recovery of transition parameters, particularly under limited test length and sample size, underscoring its advantages for longitudinal diagnostic analysis and offering practical guidance for applied researchers.
title A Comparison of Joint and Stepwise Dynamic Cognitive Diagnostic Models
topic Methodology
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.16031