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## On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran

#### Ali Darabi Bazvand [1] , Sheila Kheirzade [2] , Alireza Ahmadi [3]

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The findings of previous research into the compatibility of stakeholders’ perceptions with statistical estimations of item difficulty are not seemingly consistent. Furthermore, most research shows that teachers’ estimation of item difficulty is not reliable since they tend to overestimate the difficulty of easy items and underestimate the difficulty of difficult items. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze a high stakes test in terms of heuristic (test takers’ standpoint) and statistical difficulty (CTT and IRT) and investigate the extent to which the findings from the two perspectives converge. Results indicate that, 1) the whole test along with its sub-tests is difficult which might lead to test invalidity; 2) the respondents’ ratings of the total test in terms of difficulty level are almost convergent with the difficulty values indicated by IRT and CTT, except for the two subtests where students underestimated the difficulty values, and 3) CTT difficulty estimates are convergent with IRT difficulty estimates. Therefore, it can be concluded that students’ perceptions of item difficulty might be a better estimate of test difficulty and a combination of test takers’ perceptions and statistical difficulty might provide a better picture of item difficulty in assessment contexts.

Classical true score theory, Heuristic difficulty, High stakes test, Item response theory, Statistical difficulty
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Primary Language en Education, Scientific Disciplines September Articles Orcid: 0000-0002-2620-4648Author: Ali Darabi Bazvand (Primary Author)Institution: University of Human DevelopmentCountry: Iraq Orcid: 0000-0003-4665-0554Author: Sheila KheirzadeInstitution: Sobhe-Sadegh Institute of Higher EducationCountry: Iran Author: Alireza AhmadiInstitution: Shiraz UniversityCountry: Iran Publication Date: October 15, 2019
 Bibtex @research article { ijate546709, journal = {International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education}, issn = {}, eissn = {2148-7456}, address = {İzzet KARA}, year = {2019}, volume = {6}, pages = {330 - 343}, doi = {10.21449/ijate.546709}, title = {On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran}, key = {cite}, author = {Darabi Bazvand, Ali and Kheirzade, Sheila and Ahmadi, Alireza} } APA Darabi Bazvand, A , Kheirzade, S , Ahmadi, A . (2019). On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran. International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education, 6 (3), 330-343. DOI: 10.21449/ijate.546709 MLA Darabi Bazvand, A , Kheirzade, S , Ahmadi, A . "On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran". International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education 6 (2019): 330-343 Chicago Darabi Bazvand, A , Kheirzade, S , Ahmadi, A . "On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran". International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education 6 (2019): 330-343 RIS TY - JOUR T1 - On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran AU - Ali Darabi Bazvand , Sheila Kheirzade , Alireza Ahmadi Y1 - 2019 PY - 2019 N1 - doi: 10.21449/ijate.546709 DO - 10.21449/ijate.546709 T2 - International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education JF - Journal JO - JOR SP - 330 EP - 343 VL - 6 IS - 3 SN - -2148-7456 M3 - doi: 10.21449/ijate.546709 UR - https://doi.org/10.21449/ijate.546709 Y2 - 2019 ER - EndNote %0 International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran %A Ali Darabi Bazvand , Sheila Kheirzade , Alireza Ahmadi %T On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran %D 2019 %J International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education %P -2148-7456 %V 6 %N 3 %R doi: 10.21449/ijate.546709 %U 10.21449/ijate.546709 ISNAD Darabi Bazvand, Ali , Kheirzade, Sheila , Ahmadi, Alireza . "On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran". International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education 6 / 3 (October 2019): 330-343. https://doi.org/10.21449/ijate.546709 AMA Darabi Bazvand A , Kheirzade S , Ahmadi A . On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran. IJATE. 2019; 6(3): 330-343. Vancouver Darabi Bazvand A , Kheirzade S , Ahmadi A . On the Statistical and Heuristic Difficulty Estimates of a High Stakes Test in Iran. International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education. 2019; 6(3): 343-330.