Major advances in creating linear measures in education and the social sciences, particularly in regard to Rasch measurement, have occurred in the past 15 years, along with major advances in computer power. These have been combined so that the Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Model (RUMM) and the WINSTEPS computer programs now do statistical calculations and produce graphical outputs with very fast switching times. These programs help researchers produce unidimensional, linear scales from which valid inferences can be made by calculating person measures and item difficulties on the same linear scale, with supporting evidence. These computer programs are now available to all Learning Environment researchers. This book includes 13 Learning Environment research papers using Rasch measurement applied at the forefront of education with an international flavour. The contents of the papers relate to: (1) high stakes numeracy testing in Western Australia; (2) early English literacy in New South Wales; (3) the Indonesian Scholastic Aptitude Test; (4) validity in Learning Environment investigations; (5) factors influencing the take-up of Physics in Singapore; (6) state-wide authentic assessment for Years 11-12; (7) talented and gifted student perceptions of the learning environment; (8) disorganisation in the classroom; (9) psychological services in learning environments; (10) English teaching assistant roles in Hong Kong; (11) learning Japanese as a second language; (12) engagement in classroom learning; and (13) early cognitive development in children. This book would be of interest to all educators and educational administrators, to Learning Environment researchers and PhD students, and should be available in all university libraries where the universities have education schools or faculties. –Russell Waugh-

This book focuses on the use of the Rasch measurement model in validation studies and in analyzing the psychometric properties of a variety of test instruments, questionnaires, and scales in international contexts. It broadly examines the development and application of Rasch modeling, providing in-depth analyses of the properties of various scales used in the fields of education, and humanities and social sciences research. The book includes exemplary works on educational research and practices that highlight recent and innovative applications, as well as theoretical and practical aspects of Rasch modeling. Readers will find it helpful to understand the latest approaches to Rasch measurement in educational research, as well as practices for future studies and quantitative research. 'This book provides a diverse set of perspectives on Rasch models from scholars across the globe. The volume is both theoretical and applied. The first section of the book provides an overview of Rasch modeling and explains the theoretical and conceptual framework underlying the Rasch model. The remainder of the book highlights multiple applications of the Rasch model within educational assessment as well as several examples of how Rasch modeling can be used for validation studies. This volume showcases the wide variety of ways in which Rasch modeling can be applied to assessment data to provide insights into students’ achievement and learning and to improve instruction.'–Betsy McCoach, University of Connecticut, USA. 'A well-written collection of articles. Grouped by the theoretical and applied aspects of Rasch measurement, each chapter in this edited volume makes notable contributions to knowledge and practice. Written by leading scholars in the field, these chapters were written in a clear, succinct, and assertive manner, providing readers with up-to-date information, analyses, and debates. This book should be found in the core collection of emerging researchers and established scholars in educational measurement.'–Timothy Teo, Murdoch University, Australia.

This edited volume presents latest development in applications of Rasch measurement in science education. It includes a conceptual introduction chapter and a set of individual chapters. The introductory chapter reviews published studies applying Rasch measurement in the field of science education and identify important principles of Rasch measurement and best practices in applications of Rasch measurement in science education. The individual chapters, contributed by authors from Canada, China, Germany, Philippines and the USA, cover a variety of current topics on measurement concerning science conceptual understanding, scientific argumentation, scientific reasoning, three-dimensional learning, knowledge-in-use and cross-cutting concepts of the Next Generation Science Standards, medical education learning experiences, machine-scoring bias, formative assessment, and teacher knowledge of argument. There are additional chapters on advances in Rasch analysis techniques and technology including R, Bayesian estimation, comparison between joint maximum likelihood (JML) and marginal maximum likelihood (MML) estimations on model-data-fit, and enhancement to Rasch models by Cognitive Diagnostic Models and Latent Class Analysis. The volume provides readers who are new and experienced in applying Rasch measurement with advanced and exemplary applications in the forefront of various areas of science education research.

This volume is a commemorative book celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Learning Environments of the American Educational Researchers’ Association. It includes a historical perspective starting with the formation of the SIG in 1984 and the first program space at the AERA annual meeting in 1985 in Chicago. This retrospective notes other landmarks in the development of the SIG such as the creation of the international journal Learning Environments Research. The study of learning environments was first conceptualized around the need to develop perceptual and psychosocial measures for describing students’ individual or shared educational experiences (e.g. ‘feel of the class’ or ‘classroom climate’). Over the ensuing decades, the field expanded considerably from its early roots in science education to describe other phenomenon such as teacher-student interpersonal relationships, or applications in pre-service teacher education and action research. The book also describes several new areas of promise for the expanding field of learning environments research that in the future will include more diverse contexts and applications. These will include new contexts but established research programs in areas such as information and communications technology and environmental education, but also in emerging research contexts such as the physical classroom environment and links among learning environment contexts and students’ emotional health and well-being. Contributors are: Perry den Brok, Rosie Dhaliwhal, Barry J. Fraser, Catherine Martin-Dunlop, David Henderson, Melissa Loh, Tim Mainhardt, George Sirrakos, Alisa Stanton, Theo Wubbels, and David B. Zandvliet.

This book applies Rasch measurement theory to the fields of education, psychology, sociology, marketing and health outcomes in order to measure various social constructs. The chief focus is on first principles of both the theory and its applications. Because software is readily available to carry out analyses of real data, numerous small examples are provided in the book. The software used in these examples, and which is helpful in working through the text, is RUMM2030 (Rasch unidimensional models for measurement). The book’s main goals are to equip researchers with the confidence they need in order to be in control of the analysis and interpretation of data, and to make professional rather than primarily statistical decisions mechanically. Because statistical principles are necessarily involved, reviews of the requisite statistics are provided in the Appendix. The content is based on courses that have been taught both online and in intensive form for over two decades. Although first principles are emphasised, much of the book is based on research conducted by the two authors and their colleagues.

This book presents a general and comprehensive framework for the assurance of quality in measurements. Written by a foremost expert in the field, the text reflects an on-going international effort to extend traditional quality assured measurement, rooted in fundamental physics and the SI, to include non-physical areas such as person-centred care and the social sciences more generally. Chapter by chapter, the book follows the measurement quality assurance loop, based on Deming’s work. The author enhances this quality assurance cycle with insights from recent research, including work on the politics and philosophy of metrology, the new SI, quantitative and qualitative scales and entropy, decision risks and uncertainty when addressing human challenges, Man as a Measurement Instrument, and Psychometry and Person-centred care. Quality Assured Measurement: Unification across Social and Physical Sciences provides students and researchers in physics, chemistry, engineering, medicine and the social sciences with practical guidance on designing, implementing and applying a quality-assured measurement while engaging readers in the most novel and expansive areas of contemporary measurement research.

This book collects and organizes the original studies presented at PROMS 2014 conference on theories and applications of Rasch model. It provides useful examples of the Rasch model used to address practical measurement problems across a range of different disciplines including: Item Response Theory (IRT), philosophy of measurement, dimensionality, the role of fit statistics and residuals, application, educational application, language testing, health related research, business and industrial application and Rasch-based computer software. PROMS 2014 (Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium) was held August 2 – 6, 2014 in Guangzhou, China. The goal of this conference is to bring together the researchers from academia, universities, hospitals, industry, management sector as well as practitioners to share ideas, problems and solutions relating to the multifaceted aspects of Rasch Model.