Rule-based item bank construction and evaluation within the linear logistic framework

Abstract

In cognition research, item writing rules are considered a necessary prerequisite of item banking. A set of 636 items was constructed using prespecified cognitive operations. An evaluation of test data from some 7,400 examinees revealed 446 homogeneous items. Some items had to be discarded because of printing flaws, and others because of operation complexion or other well-describable reasons. However, cognitive operations explained item difficulty parameters quite well; further cross-validation research may contribute to an item writing approach which attempts to bring psychological theory and psychometric models closer together. This will eventually free item construction from item writer idiosyncrasies.