TitleThe distribution of indexes of person fit within the computerized adaptive testing environment
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1997
AuthorsNering, ML
JournalApplied Psychological Measurement
Volume21
Number2
Pagination115-127
Publication Languageeng
KeywordsAdaptive Testing, Computer Assisted Testing, Fit, Person Environment
Abstract

The extent to which a trait estimate represents the underlying latent trait of interest can be estimated by using indexes of person fit. Several statistical methods for indexing person fit have been proposed to identify nonmodel-fitting response vectors. These person-fit indexes have generally been found to follow a standard normal distribution for conventionally administered tests. The present investigation found that within the context of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) these indexes tended not to follow a standard normal distribution. As the item pool became less discriminating, as the CAT termination criterion became less stringent, and as the number of items in the pool decreased, the distributions of the indexes approached a standard normal distribution. It was determined that under these conditions the indexes' distributions approached standard normal distributions because more items were being administered. However, even when over 50 items were administered in a CAT the indexes were distributed in a fashion that was different from what was expected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA )