Initial preparation of first year university students is often assessed by means of an entrance examination, which tests their knowledge of mathematics and science as well as their reading skills. The present study illustrates how we used Rasch analysis to: (i) investigate the reliability and construct validity of a typical university entrance test administered in Italy; (ii) explore the extent to which mathematics, science and reading items differ in their difficulty. Two studies were set up. In study 1, we analyzed the psychometric quality of an 80-item test administered in 2016 to N=2435 science and engineering freshmen. In study 2, we analyzed the responses of N=1223 students to a 100-item entrance test administered in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to an extended population of students. Results of both studies show that the analyzed entrance tests do not match unidimensional requirement, as proficiency in mathematics, science and reading capability correspond to distinct latent traits. Moreover, items on different scientific topics have significantly different difficulty. The study shows a need for revising the analyzed tests to meet unidimensionality requirements. Moreover, the analysis of items’ difficulty suggests balancing in a more suitable way the difficulty of the different content areas.

Validation of University Entrance Tests Through Rasch Analysis / Testa, Italo; Capasso, Giuliana; Galano, Silvia; Marzoli, Irene; Serroni, Gaspare; Colantonio, Arturo; SCOTTI DI UCCIO, Umberto. - (2020), pp. 99-124. [10.1007/978-981-15-1800-3_6]

Validation of University Entrance Tests Through Rasch Analysis

Italo Testa
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
Giuliana Capasso
Data Curation
;
Silvia Galano
Data Curation
;
Irene Marzoli
Writing – Review & Editing
;
Gaspare Serroni
Data Curation
;
Arturo Colantonio
Data Curation
;
Umberto Scotti di Uccio
Writing – Review & Editing
2020

Abstract

Initial preparation of first year university students is often assessed by means of an entrance examination, which tests their knowledge of mathematics and science as well as their reading skills. The present study illustrates how we used Rasch analysis to: (i) investigate the reliability and construct validity of a typical university entrance test administered in Italy; (ii) explore the extent to which mathematics, science and reading items differ in their difficulty. Two studies were set up. In study 1, we analyzed the psychometric quality of an 80-item test administered in 2016 to N=2435 science and engineering freshmen. In study 2, we analyzed the responses of N=1223 students to a 100-item entrance test administered in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to an extended population of students. Results of both studies show that the analyzed entrance tests do not match unidimensional requirement, as proficiency in mathematics, science and reading capability correspond to distinct latent traits. Moreover, items on different scientific topics have significantly different difficulty. The study shows a need for revising the analyzed tests to meet unidimensionality requirements. Moreover, the analysis of items’ difficulty suggests balancing in a more suitable way the difficulty of the different content areas.
2020
978-981-15-1800-3
Validation of University Entrance Tests Through Rasch Analysis / Testa, Italo; Capasso, Giuliana; Galano, Silvia; Marzoli, Irene; Serroni, Gaspare; Colantonio, Arturo; SCOTTI DI UCCIO, Umberto. - (2020), pp. 99-124. [10.1007/978-981-15-1800-3_6]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Validation of University Entrance Tests.pdf

non disponibili

Descrizione: Estratto dal volume in pdf
Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Accesso privato/ristretto
Dimensione 591.48 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
591.48 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/785968
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact