Meeting Students Where They Are: Using Rasch Modeling for Improving the Measurement of Active Research in Higher Education

Surveys with rating scales are often used in higher education research to measure student learning and development, yet testing and reporting on the longitudinal psychometric properties of these instruments is rare. Rasch techniques allow scholars to map item difficulty and individual aptitude on th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Innovative higher education 2023-06, Vol.48 (3), p.557-577
Main Authors: Dahl, Laura S., Staples, B. Ashley, Mayhew, Matthew J., Rockenbach, Alyssa N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Difficulty Level
Education
Educational Research
Educational tests & measurements
Higher Education
Intergroup Relations
Item Response Theory
Longitudinal Studies
Polls & surveys
Psychometrics
Rasch model
Rating Scales
Surveys
Test Items
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Surveys with rating scales are often used in higher education research to measure student learning and development, yet testing and reporting on the longitudinal psychometric properties of these instruments is rare. Rasch techniques allow scholars to map item difficulty and individual aptitude on the same linear, continuous scale to compare respondents’ development against scale challenge. This paper uses an example from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS) to demonstrate how Rasch modeling can help researchers improve their instruments over time. Results indicate that adding more difficult items, particularly related to behavior, improved scale performance from one time point to another.
ISSN:0742-5627
1573-1758
DOI:10.1007/s10755-022-09643-4