2020 Theses Doctoral

Item Position and Motivation Effects in Large-Scale Assessments

Yoo, Nayeon

The purpose of this study is to propose a model that includes student dynamics with the item position effect and student motivation as a test-related psychological factor. In addition, missing data mechanisms were incorporated into models to mimic the actual scene when taking tests. As a prerequisite of the study, the existence of item position effects was identified. Following the first study, SEM models that included student motivation with the item position effect were evaluated, and different missing dataset types were fitted to the SEM models. All analyses used TIMSS 2015 grade 8 mathematics data from the U.S. as exemplary large-scale assessment data. Thus, a significant item position effect was identified on mathematics achievements, accounting for the relevant covariates of student background, socioeconomic status, and psychological variables; the full model with both student motivation and the item position effect was revealed as the best with complete data; the MNAR missingness type was found to have meaningful information that must be considered in test administration. This research should complement well-developed item position effect studies by focusing on modeling the effect with personal factors that show individual differences, thereby avoiding biased estimates in large-scale assessments.