| Session Title: Increasing the Value of Items on a Measure: A Practitioner's Guide to Item Response Theory Analysis |
| Demonstration Session 730 to be held in Baltimore Theater on Saturday, November 10, 9:35 AM to 10:20 AM |
| Sponsored by the Quantitative Methods: Theory and Design TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Heather Chapman, EndVision Research and Evaluation, hjchapman@cc.usu.edu |
| Catherine Callow-Heusser, EndVision Research and Evaluation, cheusser@endvision.net |
| Abstract: High-stakes testing, increased accountability, and a focus on evidence-based designs and decision making all indicate that evaluators need to pay more attention to the quality of assessment instruments. Traditional statistical methods used in instrument development yield results with many limitations. Item response theory (IRT) offers a robust statistical technique that can be used in conjunction with or as a replacement to older, more traditional statistical methods when creating new assessment instruments. IRT has several benefits that often make it a more suitable choice for the purpose of instrument development. Many evaluators are unaware of how to use IRT techniques or of the benefit of these techniques to evaluation goals. This demonstration session aims to introduce evaluators to IRT through an explanation of the statistical assumptions of IRT, a demonstration of how to use IRT statistical packages effectively, and an explanation of how to interpret and apply the results. |