Open AccessESTIMATING THE IMPUTED SOCIAL COST OF ERRORS OF MEASUREMENT *
Author(s) -
Lord Frederic M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
ets research report series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.235
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2330-8516
DOI - 10.1002/j.2330-8516.1983.tb00033.x
Subject(s) - test (biology) , function (biology) , population , statistics , computer science , process (computing) , mathematical optimization , mathematics , econometrics , paleontology , demography , sociology , biology , operating system , evolutionary biology
If a loss function is available specifying the social cost of an error of measurement in the score on a unidimensional test, an asymptotic method, based on item response theory, is developed for optimal test design for a specified target population of examinees. Since in the real world such loss functions are not available, it is more useful to reverse this process; thus a method is developed for finding the loss function for which a given test is an optimally designed test for the target population. An illustrative application is presented for one operational test.