A Comparison of Yen's Q3 Coefficient and Rasch Testlet Modeling for Identifying Local Item Dependence: Evidence from Two Vocabulary Matching Tests

Abstract

This article compares two methods for detecting local item dependence (LID): residual correlation examination and Rasch testlet modeling (RTM), in a commonly used 3:6 matching format and an extended matching test (EMT) format. The two formats are hypothesized to facilitate different levels of item dependency due to differences in the number of options and instructions regarding option recycling. The findings indicate that (1) RTM allows deeper LID inspection compared to residual correlation examination in matching tests, and (2) the EMT format has good resistance to LID while the traditional 3:6 format does not.