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A Stochastic Growth Model Applied to Repeated Tests of Academic Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

W. Albers ,
R. J. M. M. Does ,
Tj. Imbos  and
M. P. E. Janssen
W. Albers*
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University of Limburg
R. J. M. M. Does
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University of Limburg
Tj. Imbos
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University of Limburg
M. P. E. Janssen
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University of Limburg
*
Requests for reprints should be sent to W. Albers, Department of Applied Mathematics, Twente University of Technology, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, THE NETHERLANDS.
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Abstract

In the course of the medical program at the University of Limburg, students complete a total of 24 progress tests, consisting of items drawn from a constant itembank. A model is presented for the growth of knowledge reflected by these results. The Rasch model is used as a starting point, but both ability and difficulty parameters are taken to be random, and moreover the logistic distribution is replaced by the normal. Both individual and group abilities are estimated and explained through simple linear regression. Application to real data shows that the model fits very well.

Keywords

Rasch modelgrowth curvesregressionitembanking
Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , September 1989 , pp. 451 - 466
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 The Psychometric Society

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