Premium
Exploring the Influence of Judge Proficiency on Standard‐Setting Judgments
Author(s) -
Peabody Michael R.,
Wind Stefanie A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of educational measurement
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.917
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-3984
pISSN - 0022-0655
DOI - 10.1111/jedm.12202
Subject(s) - rasch model , psychology , argument (complex analysis) , social psychology , quality (philosophy) , applied psychology , cognitive psychology , epistemology , developmental psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy
Setting performance standards is a judgmental process involving human opinions and values as well as technical and empirical considerations. Although all cut score decisions are by nature somewhat arbitrary, they should not be capricious. Judges selected for standard‐setting panels should have the proper qualifications to make the judgments asked of them; however, even qualified judges vary in expertise and in some cases, such as highly specialized areas or when members of the public are involved, it may be difficult to ensure that each member of a standard‐setting panel has the requisite expertise to make qualified judgments. Given the subjective nature of these types of judgments, and that a large part of the validity argument for an exam lies in the robustness of its passing standard, an examination of the influence of judge proficiency on the judgments is warranted. This study explores the use of the many‐facet Rasch model as a method for adjusting modified Angoff standard‐setting ratings based on judges’ proficiency levels. The results suggest differences in the severity and quality of standard‐setting judgments across levels of judge proficiency, such that judges who answered easy items incorrectly tended to perceive them as easier, but those who answered correctly tended to provide ratings within normal stochastic limits.