Evaluating the Accuracy of the Empirical Item Characteristic Curve Preequating Method in the Presence of Test Speededness

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the empirical item characteristic curve (EICC) preequating method given the presence of test speededness. The simulation design of this study considered the proportion of speededness, speededness point, speededness rate, proportion of missing on speeded items, sample size, and test length. After crossing all of the manipulated factors and then normalizing the evaluation criteria (bias and root mean square difference [ RMSD]) with regard to test length, the results revealed that (1) when test speededness was present, conversions from the EICC preequating method tended to be positively distorted; (2) no practically meaningful moderation effect associated with sample size was found on the relationship between test speededness and the accuracy of EICC preequating; and (3) the location of the speededness point was the driving factor in terms of its impact on the accuracy of EICC preequating. Implications and suggestions were discussed.