Assessing the Measurement Equivalence of a Set of Items: Item-Specific Diagnostics on an Interpretable Metric

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Assessing the Measurement Equivalence of a Set of Items: Item-Specific Diagnostics on an Interpretable Metric
Language: English
Authors: Johan Braeken (ORCID 0000-0002-2119-3222), Saskia van Laar (ORCID 0000-0003-4077-5567)
Source: Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. 2026 31(1).
Availability: University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries. 154 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003. e-mail: pare@umass.edu; Web site: https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/pare/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Test Items, Factor Analysis, Effect Size, Measurement, Models, Identification
ISSN: 1531-7714
Abstract: The characteristic of 'measuring the same thing repeatedly in the same way' makes psychological tests with equivalent items an attractive choice for one-off assessments and progress monitoring. A hierarchy of factor analysis measurement models formalizes the global equivalence of the item set. The traditional model comparison approach provides a binary statistical significance decision about the global level of equivalence, but interpretable local diagnostics to assess the degree of equivalence for specific items on a meaningful metric are not yet available. We introduce such item-specific effect-size diagnostics through smart use of the effect-coding identification rule to set the to-be-measured latent variable's scale.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1507969
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The characteristic of 'measuring the same thing repeatedly in the same way' makes psychological tests with equivalent items an attractive choice for one-off assessments and progress monitoring. A hierarchy of factor analysis measurement models formalizes the global equivalence of the item set. The traditional model comparison approach provides a binary statistical significance decision about the global level of equivalence, but interpretable local diagnostics to assess the degree of equivalence for specific items on a meaningful metric are not yet available. We introduce such item-specific effect-size diagnostics through smart use of the effect-coding identification rule to set the to-be-measured latent variable's scale.
ISSN:1531-7714