Bias and Bias Correction Method for Nonproportional Abilities Requirement (NPAR) Tests

Test items must often be broad in scope to be ecologically valid. It is therefore almost inevitable that secondary dimensions are introduced into a test during test development. A cognitive test may require one or more abilities besides the primary ability to correctly respond to an item, in which c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational measurement 2019-03, Vol.56 (1), p.147-168
Main Authors: Ip, Edward H., Strachan, Tyler, Fu, Yanyan, Lay, Alexandra, Willse, John T., Chen, Shyh‐Huei, Rutkowski, Leslie, Ackerman, Terry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive Ability
Cognitive Tests
International Assessment
Scores
Simulation
Test Bias
Test Construction
Test Items
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Summary:Test items must often be broad in scope to be ecologically valid. It is therefore almost inevitable that secondary dimensions are introduced into a test during test development. A cognitive test may require one or more abilities besides the primary ability to correctly respond to an item, in which case a unidimensional test score overestimates the primary ability and creates interpretability problems. In this article, we demonstrate the nonproportional abilities requirement, a phenomenon with which secondary abilities are more required for difficult items. A novel and practical method for correcting bias in the primary ability is proposed and illustrated using a real data set from an international assessment. Simulation data are also used to evaluate the performance of the method.
ISSN:0022-0655
1745-3984
DOI:10.1111/jedm.12204