extended · article · 2020

A Rasch Investigation of Type I Error Rates and Power Associated With Item Fit Statistics Under Large-Scale Testing Situations

Yin Burgess; George Engelhard Jr.

This simulation study investigated the accuracy of the mean square and the standardized values of the item INFIT and OUTFIT statistics (i.e., based on total item fit) in Rasch dichotomous model under large-scale testing situations. It also examined their associated Type I error rates to determine how the rule-of-thumb critical values perform in detecting item misfit. Furthermore, simulated systematic measurement disturbances were used to test the power (i.e., the hit rates of true positive cases, true positive rates) and the false positive rates (i.e., Type I error rates) of the obtained values through between-item fit indices in identifying poor-fitting items. A total of four sample sizes (i.e., 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, and 50,000 test-taking students) and three test length (i.e., 30, 50, and 70 multiple-choice items) conditions were simulated to study how these statistics perform. Additi...