2015/03/21 by Emre Gönülateş, Gönülateş, Emre, Gerd Kortemeyer +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Computer science #Copying #Developmental psychology #FOS: Physical sciences #Formative assessment #Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods #Item response theory #Mathematics education #Online and Blended Learning #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #Psychology #Psychometrics #Quality (philosophy) #Social psychology #Student Assessment and Feedback #Trait #physics.ed-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1503.06287
published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)
arxiv created 2015/03/21 · openalex publication_date 2015/03/21 · arxiv updated 2015/03/24 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Item Response Theory (IRT) was originally developed in traditional exam settings, and it has been shown that the model does not readily transfer to formative assessment in the form of online homework. We investigate if this is mostly due to learner traits that do not become apparent in exam settings, namely random guessing due to lack of diligence or dedication, and copying work from other students or resources. Both of these traits mask the true ability of the learner, which is the only trait considered in most mainstream unidimensional IRT models. We find that indeed the introduction of these traits allows to better assess the true ability of the learners, as well as to better gauge the quality of assessment items. Correspondence of the model traits to self-reported behavior is investigated and confirmed. We find that of these two traits, copying answers has a larger influence on initial homework attempts than random guessing.