A New Latent Trait Modeling Approach with Contributions to Assessing Latent Unidimensionality and Ability Test Bias

1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Stout
Keyword(s):  
Latent Trait ◽  
Test Bias ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Modeling Approach

On the Relationship between Impulsivity / Reflectivity Cognitive Style and Performance on TMU English Exam

2004 ◽  
Vol 143-144 ◽  
pp. 61-88
Author(s):  
Gholam Reza Kiany ◽  
Esmaeel Ali Salimi
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Test Bias ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
Potential Sources ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Performance on language tests varies as a function of various factors. These factors, according to Bachman (1990) include: communicative language ability, test method facets, personal attributes that are not related to the ability we want to measure, and random factors which are unpredictable and temporary. Since the purpose of language tests is to measure language ability, a fundamental concern in the development and use of language tests is to identify potential sources of error and test bias in a given measure of language ability and to minimize the effects of these factors, hence to maximize the reliability and the validity of the tests. This study with 1984 male and female PhD candidates with an age range of 21-51 who took the Tarbiat Modarres University (TMU) TOEFL-like English Examination as a prerequisite for their admission for PhD programs attempted to identify one of the potential sources of test bias called impulsivity / reflectivity (Imp/Ref) cognitive style. The purpose of the present study was two fold: On the one hand, the present research attempted to investigate the relationships and interaction between impulsivity/reflectivity, age, sex and performance on TMU English Exam. This, on the other hand, required restandardization of Persian Impulsiveness Questionnaire in Iran. To achieve this purpose of the study, having gone through the restandardization procedures, the data obtained from 1822 subjects regarding impulsivity/reflectivity were factor-analyzed through Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) in order to check the construct validity of the test. To achieve the main objective of the research, the subjects were classified into three groups of high, medium and low impulsives to see if this cognitive style has any relationship with Ph.D. candidates’ performance on TMU English Exam. Moreover, the role of gender and age in the subjects’ performance and the interaction effect of impulsivity, age and sex on their performance were taken into consideration. The results revealed that both impulsivity and gender are significant factors in the subjects’ performance. The overall main effect of age and the interaction effect were found to be non significant.

scholarly journals Test-Taking Motivation in Education Students: Task Battery Order Affected Within-Test-Taker Effort and Importance

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anett Wolgast ◽  
Nico Schmidt ◽  
Jochen Ranger
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Latent Trait ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Test Taker ◽  
Education Students ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
Test Order

Different types of tasks exist, including tasks for research purposes or exams assessing knowledge. According to expectation-value theory, tests are related to different levels of effort and importance within a test taker. Test-taking effort and importance in students decreased over the course of high-stakes tests or low-stakes-tests in research on test-taking motivation. However, whether test-order changes affect effort, importance, and response processes of education students have seldomly been experimentally examined. We aimed to examine changes in effort and importance resulting from variations in test battery order and their relations to response processes. We employed an experimental design assessing N = 320 education students’ test-taking effort and importance three times as well as their performance on cognitive ability tasks and a mock exam. Further relevant covariates were assessed once such as expectancies, test anxiety, and concentration. We randomly varied the order of the cognitive ability test and mock exam. The assumption of intraindividual changes in education students’ effort and importance over the course of test taking was tested by one latent growth curve that separated data for each condition. In contrast to previous studies, responses and test response times were included in diffusion models for examining education students’ response processes within the test-taking context. The results indicated intraindividual changes in education students’ effort or importance depending on test order but similar mock-exam response processes. In particular effort did not decrease, when the cognitive ability test came first and the mock exam subsequently but significantly decreased, when the mock exam came first and the cognitive ability test subsequently. Diffusion modeling suggested differences in response processes (separation boundaries and estimated latent trait) on cognitive ability tasks suggesting higher motivational levels when the cognitive ability test came first than vice versa. The response processes on the mock exam tasks did not relate to condition.

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