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Adapting Educational and Psychological Tests for Cross-Cultural
Assessment critically examines and advances new methods and
practices for adapting tests for cross-cultural assessment and
research. The International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines for
test adaptation and conceptual and methodological issues in test
adaptation are described in detail, and questions of ethics and
concern for validity of test scores in cross-cultural contexts are
carefully examined. Advances in test translation and adaptation
methodology, including statistical identification of flawed test
items, establishing equivalence of different language versions of a
test, and methodologies for comparing tests in multiple languages,
are reviewed and evaluated. The book also focuses on adapting
ability, achievement, and personality tests for cross-cultural
assessment in educational, industrial, and clinical settings. This
book furthers the ITC's mission of stimulating research on timely
topics associated with assessment. It provides an excellent
resource for courses in psychometric methods, test construction,
and educational and/or psychological assessment, testing, and
measurement. Written by internationally known scholars in
psychometric methods and cross-cultural psychology, the collection
of chapters should also provide essential information for educators
and psychologists involved in cross-cultural assessment, as well as
students aspiring to such careers.
Adapting Educational and Psychological Tests for Cross-Cultural
Assessment critically examines and advances new methods and
practices for adapting tests for cross-cultural assessment and
research. The International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines for
test adaptation and conceptual and methodological issues in test
adaptation are described in detail, and questions of ethics and
concern for validity of test scores in cross-cultural contexts are
carefully examined. Advances in test translation and adaptation
methodology, including statistical identification of flawed test
items, establishing equivalence of different language versions of a
test, and methodologies for comparing tests in multiple languages,
are reviewed and evaluated. The book also focuses on adapting
ability, achievement, and personality tests for cross-cultural
assessment in educational, industrial, and clinical settings. This
book furthers the ITC's mission of stimulating research on timely
topics associated with assessment. It provides an excellent
resource for courses in psychometric methods, test construction,
and educational and/or psychological assessment, testing, and
measurement. Written by internationally known scholars in
psychometric methods and cross-cultural psychology, the collection
of chapters should also provide essential information for educators
and psychologists involved in cross-cultural assessment, as well as
students aspiring to such careers.
Over the last 20 years there have been a large number of technical
advances and changes in the field of educational and psychological
testing. According to Anne Anastasi, The decade of the 1980's has
been a period of unusual advances in, psychological testing.
Technological progress, theoretical sophistication, and increasing
pro fessional responsibility are all evident in the fast-moving
events in this field (A. Anastasi, Psychological Testing, Sixth
Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1988). On the psychometric front,
advances in topics such as item response theory,
criterion-referenced measurement, generalizability theory, . analy
sis of covariance structures, and validity generalization are
reshaping the ways that ability and achievement tests are
constructed and evaluated, and that test scores are interpreted.
But \Jsychometric advances, as substantial and important as they
have been, are only a fraction of the major changes in the field of
testing. Today, for example, the computer is radically chang ing
the ways in which tests are constructed, administered, and scored.
Computers are being used to administer tests "adaptively." That is,
the sequence of questions an examinee is administered depends upon
his or her performance on earlier administered items in the test.
Tests are "adapted" to the ability levels of the examinees who are
being assessed. One result is shorter tests with little or no loss
in measurement precision. Computers are also being used to store or
bank test items. Later, items of interest can be selected, and the
computer is used to print copies of the test."
The goals and content for this book are derived from three
important and ongoing efforts: to advance the institution of
education and to promote educational opportunities to children and
youth worldwide, to promote effective assessment policies and
practices that enhance sound educational practice, and to address
the need to develop tests and other assessment practices in less
developed countries as well as to augment and alter a number of
traditional assessment practices in developed nations. These three
issues provided the focus for a four-day conference that was held
at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University, in June 1993. The
conference theme-Test Use with Children and Youth: International
Pathways to Progress-underscores the importance of addressing
testing issues as efforts to improve educational opportunities for
children and youth move forward. Leaders from more than seventy
nations met at the United Nations sponsored World Summit for
Children in 1990 to support ratification of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Worldwide recognition that every individual
has the right to develop her or his potential led to the
ratification of provisions setting minimum standards for children's
education."
In the decade of the 1970s, item response theory became the
dominant topic for study by measurement specialists. But, the
genesis of item response theory (IRT) can be traced back to the
mid-thirties and early forties. In fact, the term "Item
Characteristic Curve," which is one of the main IRT concepts, can
be attributed to Ledyard Tucker in 1946. Despite these early
research efforts, interest in item response theory lay dormant
until the late 1960s and took a backseat to the emerging
development of strong true score theory. While true score theory
developed rapidly and drew the attention of leading
psychometricians, the problems and weaknesses inherent in its
formulation began to raise concerns. Such problems as the lack of
invariance of item parameters across examinee groups, and the
inadequacy of classical test procedures to detect item bias or to
provide a sound basis for measurement in "tailored testing," gave
rise to a resurgence of interest in item response theory. Impetus
for the development of item response theory as we now know it was
provided by Frederic M. Lord through his pioneering works (Lord,
1952; 1953a, 1953b). The progress in the fifties was painstakingly
slow due to the mathematical complexity of the topic and the
nonexistence of computer programs.
Item response theory has become an essential component in the
toolkit of every researcher in the behavioral sciences. It provides
a powerful means to study individual responses to a variety of
stimuli, and the methodology has been extended and developed to
cover many different models of interaction. This volume presents a
wide-ranging handbook to item response theory - and its
applications to educational and psychological testing. It will
serve as both an introduction to the subject and also as a
comprehensive reference volume for practitioners and researchers.
It is organized into six major sections: the nominal categories
model, models for response time or multiple attempts on items,
models for multiple abilities or cognitive components,
nonparametric models, models for nonmonotone items, and models with
special assumptions. Each chapter in the book has been written by
an expert of that particular topic, and the chapters have been
carefully edited to ensure that a uniform style of notation and
presentation is used throughout. As a result, all researchers whose
work uses item response theory will find this an indispensable
companion to their work and it will be the subject's reference
volume for many years to come.
Item response theory has become an essential component in the toolkit of every researcher in the behavioral sciences. It provides a powerful means to study individual responses to a variety of stimuli, and the methodology has been extended and developed to cover many different models of interaction. This volume presents a wide-ranging handbook to item response theory - and its applications to educational and psychological testing. It will serve as both an introduction to the subject and also as a comprehensive reference volume for practitioners and researchers. It is organized into six major sections: the nominal categories model, models for response time or multiple attempts on items, models for multiple abilities or cognitive components, nonparametric models, models for nonmonotone items, and models with special assumptions. Each chapter in the book has been written by an expert of that particular topic, and the chapters have been carefully edited to ensure that a uniform style of notation and presentation is used throughout. As a result, all researchers whose work uses item response theory will find this an indispensable companion to their work and it will be the subject's reference volume for many years to come.
The goals and content for this book are derived from three
important and ongoing efforts: to advance the institution of
education and to promote educational opportunities to children and
youth worldwide, to promote effective assessment policies and
practices that enhance sound educational practice, and to address
the need to develop tests and other assessment practices in less
developed countries as well as to augment and alter a number of
traditional assessment practices in developed nations. These three
issues provided the focus for a four-day conference that was held
at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University, in June 1993. The
conference theme-Test Use with Children and Youth: International
Pathways to Progress-underscores the importance of addressing
testing issues as efforts to improve educational opportunities for
children and youth move forward. Leaders from more than seventy
nations met at the United Nations sponsored World Summit for
Children in 1990 to support ratification of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Worldwide recognition that every individual
has the right to develop her or his potential led to the
ratification of provisions setting minimum standards for children's
education."
Over the last 20 years there have been a large number of technical
advances and changes in the field of educational and psychological
testing. According to Anne Anastasi, The decade of the 1980's has
been a period of unusual advances in, psychological testing.
Technological progress, theoretical sophistication, and increasing
pro fessional responsibility are all evident in the fast-moving
events in this field (A. Anastasi, Psychological Testing, Sixth
Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1988). On the psychometric front,
advances in topics such as item response theory,
criterion-referenced measurement, generalizability theory, . analy
sis of covariance structures, and validity generalization are
reshaping the ways that ability and achievement tests are
constructed and evaluated, and that test scores are interpreted.
But \Jsychometric advances, as substantial and important as they
have been, are only a fraction of the major changes in the field of
testing. Today, for example, the computer is radically chang ing
the ways in which tests are constructed, administered, and scored.
Computers are being used to administer tests "adaptively." That is,
the sequence of questions an examinee is administered depends upon
his or her performance on earlier administered items in the test.
Tests are "adapted" to the ability levels of the examinees who are
being assessed. One result is shorter tests with little or no loss
in measurement precision. Computers are also being used to store or
bank test items. Later, items of interest can be selected, and the
computer is used to print copies of the test."
In the decade of the 1970s, item response theory became the
dominant topic for study by measurement specialists. But, the
genesis of item response theory (IRT) can be traced back to the
mid-thirties and early forties. In fact, the term "Item
Characteristic Curve," which is one of the main IRT concepts, can
be attributed to Ledyard Tucker in 1946. Despite these early
research efforts, interest in item response theory lay dormant
until the late 1960s and took a backseat to the emerging
development of strong true score theory. While true score theory
developed rapidly and drew the attention of leading
psychometricians, the problems and weaknesses inherent in its
formulation began to raise concerns. Such problems as the lack of
invariance of item parameters across examinee groups, and the
inadequacy of classical test procedures to detect item bias or to
provide a sound basis for measurement in "tailored testing," gave
rise to a resurgence of interest in item response theory. Impetus
for the development of item response theory as we now know it was
provided by Frederic M. Lord through his pioneering works (Lord,
1952; 1953a, 1953b). The progress in the fifties was painstakingly
slow due to the mathematical complexity of the topic and the
nonexistence of computer programs.
Using familiar concepts from classical measurement methods and basic statistics, Hambleton and colleagues introduce the basics of item response theory (IRT) and explain the application of IRT methods to problems in test construction, identification of potentially biased test items, test equating, and computerized-adaptive testing. The book also includes a thorough discussion of alternative proceduers for estimating IRT parameters, such as maximum likehood estimation, marginal maximum likehood estimation, and Bayesian estimation in such a way that the reader does not need a knowledge of calculus to follow these explanations. Including step-by-step numerical examples throughout, the book concludes with an exploration of new directions in IRT research and development.
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