The Effect of Speededness on Parameter Estimation in Item Response Theory

There is a paucity of research in item response theory (IRT) examining the consequences of violating the implicit assumption of nonspeededness. In this study, test data were simulated systematically under various speeded conditions. The three factors considered in relation to speededness were propor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational measurement 1994-09, Vol.31 (3), p.200-219
Main Author: Oshima, T. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Coefficients
Computer Simulation
Computer software
Correlation coefficients
Estimate reliability
Estimation (Mathematics)
Estimation methods
Estimation theory
Item Response Theory
Parameter Identification
Parametric models
Speededness (Tests)
Standard deviation
Test theory
Testing Problems
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Summary:There is a paucity of research in item response theory (IRT) examining the consequences of violating the implicit assumption of nonspeededness. In this study, test data were simulated systematically under various speeded conditions. The three factors considered in relation to speededness were proportion of test not reached (5%, 10%, and 15%), response to not reached (blank vs. random response), and item ordering (random vs. easy to hard). The effects of these factors on parameter estimation were then examined by comparing the item and ability parameter estimates with the known true parameters. Results indicated that the ability estimation was least affected by speededness in terms of the correlation between true and estimated ability parameters. On the other hand, substantial effects of speededness were observed among item parameter estimates. Recommendations for minimizing the effects of speededness are discussed.
ISSN:0022-0655
1745-3984
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1994.tb00443.x