A Review of the Effects on IRT Item Parameter Estimates with a Focus on Misbehaving Common Items in Test Equating

Many studies have investigated the topic of change or drift in item parameter estimates in the context of item response theory (IRT). Content effects, such as instructional variation and curricular emphasis, as well as context effects, such as the wording, position, or exposure of an item have been found to impact item parameter estimates. The issue becomes more critical when items with estimates exhibiting differential behavior across test administrations are used as common for deriving equating transformations. This paper reviews the types of effects on IRT item parameter estimates and focuses on the impact of misbehaving or aberrant common items on equating transformations. Implications relating to test validity and the judgmental nature of the decision to keep or discard aberrant common items are discussed, with recommendations for future research into more informed and formal ways of dealing with misbehaving common items

An Illustration of a Mantel-Haenszel Procedure to Flag Misbehaving Common Items in Test Equating

In this study the Mantel-Haenszel procedure, widely used in studies for identifying differential item functioning, is proposed as an alternative to the delta-plot method and applied in a test-equating context for flagging common items that behave differentially across cohorts of examinees. The Mantel-Haenszel procedure has the advantage of conditioning on ability when making comparisons of performance of two examinee groups on an item. There are schemes for interpreting the effect size of differential performance, which can inform the decision as to whether to retain those items in the common-item pool, or to discard them. Data from a statewide assessment are analyzed to illustrate the use of this procedure. Advantages of this methodology are discussed and limitations regarding test design that may make its application difficult are described. Accessed 17,544 times on https://pareonline.net from September 11, 2008 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Health Regulatory Focus Scale

The Health Regulatory Focus Scale (HRFS) is a short scale whichmeasures an individual’s prevention and promotion focus in a health-specific context. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the newly translated German version of the HRFS. Reliability and item characteristics were found to be satisfactory. Validity of both subscales toward other psychological constructs including behavioral approach and avoidance, core self-evaluations, optimism, pessimism, neuroticism, as well as severalmeasures of physical andmental health was shown. In addition, invariance of the measure across age and gender groups was shown. Exploratory as well as confirmatory factor analyses clearly indicated a two-factorial structure with a moderate correlation between the two latent constructs. Differences in health promotion and prevention focus between socio-demographic groups are discussed. The HRFS is found to be a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of regulatory focus in health-related environments

Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment: A Global Phenomenon or a Global Localism

How teachers conceive of the nature and purpose of assessment matters to the implementation of classroom assessment and the preparation of students for high-stakes external examinations or qualifications. It is highly likely that teacher beliefs arise from the historical, cultural, social, and policy contexts within which teachers operate. Hence, it may be that there is not a globally homogeneous construct of teacher conceptions of assessment. Instead, it is possible that a statistical model of teacher conceptions of assessment will always be a local expression. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine whether any of the published models of teacher assessment conceptions could be generalized across data sets from multiple jurisdictions. Research originating in New Zealand with the Teacher Conceptions of Assessment self-report inventory has been replicated in multiple locations and languages (i.e., English in New Zealand, Queensland, Hong Kong, and India; Greek in Cyprus; Arabic in Egypt; Spanish in Spain, Ecuador) and at different levels of instructional contexts (Primary, Secondary, Senior Secondary, and Teacher Education). This study conducts secondary data analyses in which eight previously published models of teacher conceptions of assessment were systematically compared across 11 available data sets. Nested multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (using Amos v25) was carried out to establish sequentially configural, metric, and scalar equivalence between models. Results indicate that only one model (i.e., India) had configural invariance across all 11 data sets and this did not achieve metric equivalence. These results indicate that while the inventory can be used cross-culturally after localized adaptations, there is indeed no single global model. Context, culture, and local factors shape teacher conceptions of assessment

A Protocol of a Pilot Experimental Study Using Social Network Interventions to Examine the Social Contagion of Attitudes Towards Childhood Vaccination in Parental Social Networks

Increasing vaccination hesitancy that burdens global health and safety can be attributed to multiple reasons. Individuals’ social environment seems to be the catalyst for vaccination hesitancy perpetuation, thus it is important to examine the influence of different social network mechanisms in vaccination attitudes’ contagion. The proposed pilot experiment will examine the social contagion of childhood vaccination attitudes within a parental community using social network interventions. By identifying centrally-located people or groups of like-minded individuals from a parents’ community, we will examine whether the position of a person within a social group can have a greater impact in spreading positive vaccination messages to other community members. Parents will be recruited from social media and will be randomly assigned into three groups. Firstly, each group will participate in an online game to map their social networks and identify members with certain network position, who will then receive a short training about valid vaccination information provisions. All groups’ members will participate in daily vaccination discussion groups for one week, where the selected members will spread positive vaccination attitudes to others. We hypothesize that centrally located individuals and like-minded group of people will more likely cause a change on the childhood-vaccination attitudes and will sustain a long-term change at 3 months follow-up, compared to randomly located people

Characterization of Retinal Structure in ATF6-Associated Achromatopsia.

PurposeMutations in six genes have been associated with achromatopsia (ACHM): CNGA3, CNGB3, PDE6H, PDE6C, GNAT2, and ATF6. ATF6 is the most recent gene to be identified, though thorough phenotyping of this genetic subtype is lacking. Here, we sought to test the hypothesis that ATF6-associated ACHM is a structurally distinct form of congenital ACHM.MethodsSeven genetically confirmed subjects from five nonconsanguineous families were recruited. Foveal hypoplasia and the integrity of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) band (a.k.a., IS/OS) were graded from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Images of the photoreceptor mosaic were acquired using confocal and nonconfocal split-detection adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO). Parafoveal cone and rod density values were calculated and compared to published normative data as well as data from two subjects harboring CNGA3 or CNGB3 mutations who were recruited for comparative purposes. Additionally, nonconfocal dark-field AOSLO images of the retinal pigment epithelium were obtained, with quantitative analysis performed in one subject with ATF6-ACHM.ResultsFoveal hypoplasia was observed in all subjects with ATF6 mutations. Absence of the EZ band within the foveal region (grade 3) or appearance of a hyporeflective zone (grade 4) was seen in all subjects with ATF6 using OCT. There was no evidence of remnant foveal cone structure using confocal AOSLO, although sporadic cone-like structures were seen in nonconfocal split-detection AOSLO. There was a lack of cone structure in the parafovea, in direct contrast to previous reports.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate a near absence of cone structure in subjects harboring ATF6 mutations. This implicates ATF6 as having a major role in cone development and suggests that at least a subset of subjects with ATF6-ACHM have markedly fewer cellular targets for cone-directed gene therapies than do subjects with CNGA3- or CNGB3-ACHM

The Natural History of Leber Congenital Amaurosis and Cone-Rod Dystrophy Associated with Variants in the GUCY2D Gene

OBJECTIVE: To describe the spectrum of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and cone-rod dystrophy (CORD) associated with the GUCY2D gene, and to identify potential clinical endpoints and optimal patient selection for future therapeutic trials. DESIGN: International multicenter retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: 82 patients with GUCY2D-associated CORD and LCA from 54 molecularly confirmed families. METHODS: Data were gathered by reviewing medical records for medical history, symptoms, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ophthalmoscopy, visual fields, full-field electroretinography and retinal imaging (fundus photography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), fundus autofluorescence). MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Age of onset, annual decline of visual acuity, estimated visual impairment per age, genotype-phenotype correlations, anatomic characteristics on funduscopy, and multimodal imaging. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with autosomal recessive LCA and 68 with autosomal dominant CORD were included. The median follow-up time was 5.2 years (interquartile range (IQR), 2.6-8.8) for LCA, and 7.2 years (IQR, 2.2-14.2) for CORD. Generally, LCA presented in the first year of life. The BCVA in LCA ranged from no light perception to 1.00 logMAR, and remained relatively stable during follow-up. Imaging for LCA was limited, but showed little to no structural degeneration. In CORD, progressive vision loss started around the second decade of life. The annual decline rate of visual acuity was 0.022 logMAR (P A and the c.2512C>T GUCY2D variant (P = 0.798). At the age of 40 years the probability of being blind or severely visually impaired was 32%. The integrity of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) and external limiting membrane (ELM) on SD-OCT were correlated significantly with BCVA (Spearman's ρ = 0.744, P = 0.001 and ρ = 0.712, P < 0.001, respectively) in CORD. CONCLUSION: LCA due to variants in GUCY2D results in severe congenital visual impairment with relatively intact macular anatomy on funduscopy and available imaging, suggesting a long preservation of photoreceptors. Despite large variability, GUCY2D-associated CORD generally presented during adolescence with a progressive loss of vision and culminated in severe visual impairment during mid to late-adulthood. The integrity of the ELM and EZ may be suitable structural endpoints for therapeutic studies in GUCY2D-associated CORD

Perceived Parenting and Adolescent Cyber-Bullying: Examining the Intervening Role of Autonomy and Relatedness Need Satisfaction, Empathic Concern and Recognition of Humanness

Due to the progress in information technology, cyber-bullying is becoming one of the most common forms of interpersonal harm, especially among teenagers. The present study (N = 548) aimed to investigate the relation between perceived parenting style (in terms of autonomy support and psychological control) and cyber-bullying in adolescence. Thereby, the study tested for the intervening role of adolescent need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy and relatedness), empathic concern towards others, and adolescents' recognition of full humanness to cyber-bullying offenders and victims. Findings revealed both a direct and an indirect relation between parenting and cyber-bullying. More specifically, parental psychological control directly predicted cyber-bullying, whereas parental autonomy support related to less cyber-bullying indirectly, as it was associated with the satisfaction of adolescents' need for autonomy, which predicted more empathic concern towards others, which in turn differentially related to recognition of humanness to victims and bullies. The discussion focuses on the implications of the current findings