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Item Response Theory

Item response theory (IRT) is a psychometric framework that models responses to test items based on latent traits. IRT establishes a link between latent traits, test item properties, and individual responses. It supports test construction, linking and equating measurements, and evaluating test bias. IRT models the relationship between latent traits and observable responses to provide a theoretically sound basis for educational measurement.

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ATANES, JAN VINCENT
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50 views7 pages

Item Response Theory

Item response theory (IRT) is a psychometric framework that models responses to test items based on latent traits. IRT establishes a link between latent traits, test item properties, and individual responses. It supports test construction, linking and equating measurements, and evaluating test bias. IRT models the relationship between latent traits and observable responses to provide a theoretically sound basis for educational measurement.

Uploaded by

ATANES, JAN VINCENT
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ITEM

RESPONSE
THEORY
Item Response Theory
• Item response theory (IRT) is a collection of statistical models that have been used to
model responses to educational and psychological test items along with the latent
trait(s) that determine how individuals respond to those items.

• This fundamental psychometric framework has grown to encompass a wide range of


tools and techniques, such as differential item functioning, computerized adaptive
testing. and item analysis.

• IRT's theoretical and computational framework was developed from the 1950s through
the 1980s and since that time has been used widely by organizational researchers for a
variety of applications and research domains.

• Item response theory provides a useful and theoretically well-founded framework


foreducational measurement.
Item Response Theory
• It supports such activities as the construction of measurement instruments,
linking andequating measurements, and evaluation of test bias and
differential item functioning.

• It further provides underpinnings for item banking and flexible test


administration designs, such as multiple matrix sampling, flexi-level testing,
and computerized adaptive testing.

• Psychometric theory offers two approaches in analyzing test data: the


Classical Test Theory (CTT) and the Item Response Theory (IRT). Below is
the comparison of the two theories.
Classical Test Theory versus Item Response
•Theory
The test is the unit of analysis • The item is the unit analysis
Measures with more items (longer) Measures with lesser items (shorter)
are more reliable than their can be more reliable than their
counterparts counterparts
• Comparing scores from different • Item responses of different measures
measures can only be done when the can be compared as long as they are
test forms/measures are parallel measuring the same latent trait
• Item properties depend on are • Item properties don't depend on a
presentative sample representative sample
• Position on the latent trait continuum • Position on the latent trait continuum
is derived from comparing the test are derived by comparing the distance
score with scores of the between items on the ability scale
referencegroup • Items on a measure can have different
• All items on the measure must have response categories
the same response categories
Uses of Item Response Theory
• Interpreting and improving item performance
• Scoring examinees with maximum likelihood or Bayesian methods
• Form assembly, including linear on the fly testing (LOFT)
• Calculating the accuracy of examinee scores
• Development of computerized adaptive tests (CAT)
• Data forensics to find cheaters or other issues.
• In addition to being used to evaluate each item individually, IRFS are
combined in various ways to evaluate the overall test or form.
What is Item Response Theory
The item response theory (IRT), also known as the latent response
theory refers to a family of mathematical models that attempt to explain the
relationship between latent traits (unobservable characteristic or attribute)
and their manifestations (i.e. observed outcomes, responses or performance).
They establish a link between the properties of items on an instrument,
individuals responding to these items and the underlying trait being
measured. IRT assumes that the latent construct (e.g. stress, knowledge,
attitudes) and items of a measure are organized in an unobservable
continuum. Therefore, its main purpose focuses on establishing the
individual's position on that continuum.
What is Item Response Theory

Item Response Theory (IRT) is a way to analyze responses


to tests or questionnaires with the goal of improving
measurement accuracy and reliability. If you want your test to
actually measure what it is supposed to measure (i.e.
mathematical ability, a student's reading ability or historical
knowledge), IRT is one way to develop your tests.

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