OTIC FILE COPYJ RR-88-54-ONR -- 3
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RANDOMIZATION-BASED INFERENCES ABOUT -
LATENT VARIABLES FROM COMPLEX SAMPLES
Robert J. Mislevy
Nov o 8 1988 • .
This research was sponsored in part by the
Office for Educational Research and Improvement
Center for Education Statistics, under
Grant No. NIE-G-83-001 1; and the "
Cognitive Science Program
Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division
Office of Naval Research, under
Contract No. N00014-88-K-0304
R&T 4421552
Robert J. Mislevy, Principal Investigator
# Educational Testing Service
Princeton, New Jersey
September 1988 •
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ci:Jomization-Based Inferences about Latent Variables from Complex Samples
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FIELD GROUP SUB-GROUP Complex samples, item response theory, latent structure,
Jj i0 missing data, multiple imputation, National Assessment of
Educational Progress, sample surveys
'9 ABSTRACT )Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number)
Standard procedures for drawing inferences .from complex sampl-ks do not
apply when the variable of interest 9 cannot 4 observed directly, but-must
be inferred from the values of secondary random variables that depend on 9
stochastically. Examples are examinee profic'iency variables in item response
theory models and class memberships in latehft class models. This paper uses
Rubin's "multiple imputation"-approach toipproximate sample statistics that
would have been obtained, had 0 been obse vable. Associated variance
estimates account for uncertainty due to-both the sampling of respondents
from the population and the latency of i. The approach is illustrated with
artificial examples and with data from the 1984 National Assessment for
'
Educational Progress reading survey. ( .
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Randomization-Based Inferences about Latent
Variables from Complex Samples
Robert J. Mislevy
Educational Testing Service
September 1988
CPY
lt4 SPfEC1 --
This research was supported by Grant No. NIE-G-83-O011 of the
Office for Educational Research and Improvement, Center for
Education Statistics, and Contract No. N00014-88-K-0304, R&T
4421552 from the Cognitive Sciences Program, Cognitive and Neural
Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research. It does not
necessarily reflect the views of either agency. I am grateful to
R. Darrell Bock for calling my attention to the applicability of
Rubin's multiple imputations to the assessment setting; to Albert
Beaton and Eugene Johnson for enlightening discussions on the
topic; and to Henry Braun, Ben King, Debra Kline, Paul Rosenbaum,
*Don Rubin, John Tukey, Kentaro Yamamoto, and Rebecca Zwick for
comments on earlier drafts. Example 3 is based on the analysis of
the 1984 National Assessment for Educational Progress reading
survey, carried out at Educational Testing Service through the
tireless efforts of too many people to mention by name, under the
direction of Albert Beaton, Director of NAEP Data Analyses.
E
rto
Copyright Q 1988. Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved.
IL
Randomization-based Inferences about Latent
Variables from Complex Samples
Abstract
Standard procedures for drawing inferences from complex
samples do not apply when the variable of interest 9 cannot be
observed directly, but must be inferred from the values of
* secondary random variables that depend on 0 stochastically.
Examples are examinee proficiency variables in item response
theory models and class memberships in latent class models. This
paper uses Rubin's "multiple imputation" approach to approximate
sample statistics that would have been obtained, had 9 been
observable. Associated variance estimates account for uncertainty
due to both the sampling of respondents from the population and
the latency of 9. The approach is illustrated with artificial
examples and with data from the 1984 National Assessment for
Educational Progress reading survey.
Key words: Complex samples, item response theory, latent
* structure, missing data, multiple imputation,
National Assessment of Educational Progress, sample
surveys.
Randomization-Based Inference
Introduction
Latent-variable models are used in the social sciences to
provide parsimonious explanations of associations among observed
variables in terms of theoretical constructs. Practical benefits
can accrue as well, as when examinees who have been presented
different test items are compared using item response theory (IRT)
psychometric models, or when consumer satisfaction levels are
tracked over time with different survey questions by means of a
latent class model.
0 This paper addresses the problem of estimating the
distributions of latent variables in finite populations, when the
data are obtained in complex sampling designs. The solution it
offers is to apply Rubin's (1987) "multiple imputations"
procedures for missing data in sample surveys. This approach
provides consistent estimates of population characteristics,
* supports statements of precision that account for both the
sampling of subjects and the latency of variables, and produces
filled-in pseudo datasets that are easy for secondary researchers
* to analyze correctly.
The following sections briefly review randomization-based
inference about manifest variables from complex samples, and
* multiple imputation for nonrespons.. The next sections apply
these ideas to latent-variable measurement models and illustrate
them with an example using classical test theory. Computing
Randomization-Based Inference
approximations are then discussed. The paper concludes by
sketching the implementation, the results, and the lessons learned
in applying the procedures to the 1984 reading survey of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Drawing Inferences from Complex Samples
Standard analyses of sample survey data (e.g., Cochran, 1977)
provide estimates of population characteristics and associated
sampling variances when the values of survey variables are
observed from each respondent in the realized sample. This
section gives background and notation for the analysis of survey
data, first when all responses are in fact observed, then when
some are missing.
Randomization-Based Inference with Complete Data
Consider a population of N identifiable units, indexed by the
subscript i. Associated with each unit are two possibly vector-
valued variables Y and Z. The values of the design variables, Z,
are known for all units before observations are made, but the
values of the survey variables, Y, are not. Let (X,Z) denote the
population matrix of values. Interest lies in the value of a
function S - S(Y,Z) of the population values; examples include a
population total for an element of Y, a subpopulation mean for an
element of Y given specified values of elements of Z, and the
linear regression coefficients of some elements of Y on others.
Randomization-Based Inference
Any of these functions could be calculated directly if values of Y
and Z were observed for all units in the population.
There are 2N possible subsets of units, and a sample design
assigns a probability to each. A simple random sample of size
100, for example, assigns equal probability to all subsets of 100
units, and zero to all other subsets. A sample design yields a
"complex sample" when it exhibits one or more of the following
features: unequal probabilities of selection for different units;
stratification, which ensures prespecified rates of representation
in the sample according to values of Z; or clustering, which uses
values of Z to link selection probabilities of units when their
joint occurrence facilitates gathering the data (e.g., it is
easier to interview two respondents in the same town than two in
different towns).
Randomization-based inference about S is based on the
distribution of a statistic s - s(y) calculated using X, the Y
values of a subset of units selected in accordance with a
prespecified sample design. In practical work, sample designs are
usually constructed so as to yield a nearly unbiased statistic s
and an estimate of its variance in the form of another statistic U
- U(X). Inferences are then drawn using the normal approximation
(s - S) - N(0,U)
4
Randomization-Based Inference
Under the randomization approach to inference in sample
surveys, population values Y are taken as fixed unknown
quantities, and the notion of randomness enters only in the
selection of a sample in accordance with the sample design. Under
the model-based approach, in contrast, Y is viewed as a realized
sample from a hypothetical "superpopulation" under which variables
are distributed in accordance with some model p(ylz) (Cassel,
Sarndal, and Wretman, 1977). The randomization approach dominates
current practice, and will be used in the sequel to deal with
uncertainty due to sampling subjects. It will be seen that
superpopulation concepts are required nonetheless to handle
missingness and latency.
Randomization-Based Inference with Incomplete Data
In practice, values of one or more survey variables will not
be observed from some subjects in the realized sample, for
reasons that may or may not be related to the values that would
have been observed. For any respondent, let the partitioning
y=(YmisYobs) indicate the elements of the survey variables that
were missing and observed. Much progress has been made extending
inferential procedures to survey data with missing responses when
those responses are missing at random (MAR); that is, the
probability that the elements in y are missing may depend on
I
the values of yobs and z, but beyond that, not on the value of
ymis (Little and Rubin, 1987; Rubin, 1976).
I
Randomization-Based Inference
Let (-mis'yobs) be the matrices of missing and observed
survey variables in a realized sample. The values of lobs- -which
may comprise different elements of y for different subjects--are
now known, but the values of Ymis are not. It is not possible to
calculate s directly, but it may be possible to calculate its
conditional expectation:
E[s() 'Yobs L(mis',yobs) p(XmislobsE) dmis (i)
I
The predictive density p( mis1 obsz) expresses the extent of
knowledge about what the missing responses might have been, given
the observed responses and the survey variables. If MAR holds,
the predictive distribution of a missing element for subject i--
say yi,mis-- is approximated by the responses to that element from
subjects who did respond to it and have the same z values as
subject i and the same responses on the elements in y i,obs* In
large surveys with few missing values, one can use these empirical
distributions directly. The Census Bureau's "hot deck" imputation
procedure (see Ford, 1983), for example, assumes that predictive
densities are independent over respondents--i.e.,
p(misLobsz) = p(yi,mislyi,obszi) --
i
and calculates s with each person's observed responses and, for
those he or she is missing, draws from the actual responses of
suitably similar respondents.
I
Randomization-Based Inference
Alternatively, one can posit a functional form for
p(YmisYobs, z), such as a regression model with parameters 6. It
is usually reasonable to assume independence over respondents, but
now conditional on the unknown parameters 6; that is,
P(YmisIYobsZP) = T p(yi,mislyi,obszi,) (2)
In this case, the appropriate predictive distribution is obtained
after marginalizing with respect to P:
)
P(Xmislyobs' ) = f P(Xmis'Xobs'Z'O) p('obs di , (3)
where p(Olyobs ) is the posterior distribution of / after Xobs has
been observed.
Multiple Imputation for Missing Responscs
As with the hot deck, one can obtain a rough numerical
approximation of (1)--an unbiased estimate of the expectation of
s--by filling in each missing response with a random draw from its
4 predictive density, then calculating s as if these imputations
were the true response values. An analogous approximation of U
using these single imputations underestimates the variability of
the resulting estimate of S, however. It accounts for uncertainty
due to sampling subjects, but not uncertainty due to imputing
values for missing responses. To remedy this deficiency, Rubin
suggests multiple imputations. When the statistic s is scalar and
Randomization-Based Inference
the predictive distribution for ymis is model-based, one proceeds
as follows:
1. Determine the posterior distribution p(Olob
2. Produce M distinct "completed" datasets Y(m), m=l,...,M.
Each looks like a complete dataset; it has the values Xobs
for the responses that were observed, and, for those that
were not, a draw from (3). Two steps complete x(m)"
a. Draw a value P(m) from p(Plyobs ) .
b. For each respondent with one or more missing responses,
draw a value from p(y i,mislYi,obs'i,3=0(m)). Taken
togethe-, the resulting imputation for y imis and the
observed value of Yi,obs constitute Yi(m)' the
"completed" response of subject i.
3. Using each completed dataset, calculate s(m)S(Y (m) ) and
U () Y(m))
4. The final estimate of S is the average of the M estimates
from the completed datasets:
M
sM = Z s (m)/ M (4)
5. The estimated sampling variance of sM as an estimate of S,
say V M , is the sum of two components:
H
Randomization-Based Inference
VM U M + (l+M - ) BM , (5)
where
M
UM Z U / M
m=l(i)
quantifies uncertainty due to sampling subjects, and
M
BM - mH
E l(in)
(s - SM) 2 (-i
(M-1)
M= 1
the variance among the estimates of s from the M completed
datasets, quantifies uncertainty due to missing responses
from the sampled subjects.
6. If inferences about S would have been based on (s-S) - N(O,U)
had all responses been observed, inferences are now based on
S MS) - t (O,VM , (6)
a t-distribution, with degrees of freedom given by
= (M-1) (l+rM
-1 2
,
where rM is the proportional increase in variance due to
* missingness:
rM - (1+M ) BH / UM
Randomization-Based Inference
When BM is small relative to UM, v is large and the normal
approximation uo the t-distribution suffices.
For k-dimensional s, such as the vector of coefficients in a
multiple regression analysis, each U(m ) and UM are covariance
matrices, and BM is an average of squares and cross products
rather than simply an average of squares. Then the Quantity
(S-SM) V (S-S ) (7)
is approximately F-distributed with k and v degrees of freedom,
with v defined as above but with a matrix generalization of rM:
-1
rM = (+M ) Trace(BMUM -1)/k
By the same reasoning as used for the normal approximation for
scalar s, a chi-square distribution on k degrees of freedom often
suffices.
Example 1: A Numerical Illustration
* Consider a large population in which the scalar y is
distributed N(iI), and it is desired to estimate p from an SRS of
size 12. If y values for all 12 units in the realized sample were
* observed, inferences about A would be based on y, the sample mean,
and U, the squared standard error of the mean (SEM2). U is I/N
since the population variance is known to be one. In particular,
Randomization-Based Inference
10
(y-g) - N(0,1/12). Suppose, though, that the values for the last
two sampled units are missing (at random). The first ten are
observed to take the values shown below:
-.797, -.176, 1.419, .029, -1.107,
1.794, -1.619, 1.104, .418, .161.
These observations comprise Xobs' while ym is (YllYl2).
Using multiple imputations to estimate the population mean is
accomplished as follows.
Since we are assuming MAR and there are no collateral or
design variables, the distributions of yll and Y 1 2 are simply
N(jI) too. What we know about M from the first ten observations
is conveyed by their mean and the SEM2; with an indifference
prior, p(Alyobs ) is N(.123,.100).
A completed dataset consists of the ten observed y values and
an imputation for (yllyl2 ). For the sake of illustration, five
completed datasets will be constructed. The procedure for each
consists of two steps:
a. A value u() is drawn from p or N(.123,.I).
b. Imputations Yll W)and Y12(m) are drawn from N(p(m),).
A table of random normal deviates gave the following results:
Randomization-Based Inference
11
m (m) Yll(m) Yl2(m)
1 .306 -.095 -.801
2 .238 -.599 .644
3 .033 -.029 .510
4 .089 .386 -1.248
5 .001 .205 2.106
From each completed dataset, an estimate ytm) is calculated,
the mean of ten observed y values and two imputations. The
results are .028, .106, .143, .031, and .295. For each m,
U()/12, an SEM appropriate for twelve observations from a
normal population with a variance known to be one.
The estimate of u based on the imputed values y is the
M
average of the five completed-data estimates, or .121. Not
surprisingly, this is close to the estimate .123 based on Xobs'
since that is its expected value. Indeed, yM would converge to
.123 as M increased. The estimated sampling variance of yM is
obtained by (5) as
Z (m)/5 + (1+51) Z (y(m)-yM)2/4
1/12 + 1.2 x .012
.098.
This value is very close to 1/10, the SEM 2 that corresponds to a
Randomization-Based Inference
12
sample of size 10--as it should, since this is what the data
actually are.
Randomization-based inferences about p using the multiple
imputations are based on
(.121 - p) - t1 8 4 (0,.098)
a t-distribution with degrees of freedom obtained by (6) with rM,
the proportional increase in variance due to the missingness of
Yll and Y 1 2 , equal to .173.
Latent Variables and Sample Surveys
This section provides notation and background for latent-
variable models, and shows how they can be handled in complex
samples with multiple imputations.
Latent-Variable Models
Latent variables in educational and psychological measurement
models account for regularities in observable data; for example,
examinees' tendencies to give correct responses to test items, or
respondents' inclinations toward liberal responses on social
questions. The probability that a subject with latent parameter 9
will make the response x W to Item j is modeled as a function of
0 and a possibly vector-valued item parameter Pj, as p(x(j), j
The assumption of local or conditional independence posits that
the latent variable accounts for associations among responses to
Randomization-Based Inference
13
various items in a specified domain; i.e., if x - (x .. X(n )
is a vector of responses to n items, then
n
p(xiOA = H p(x (j) 0j)' , (8)
where 6 = (1 1.... on). Moreover, the latent variable is typically
assumed to account for associations between response variables and
collateral subject variables such as demographic or educational
standing. Denoting collateral variables by y and z to anticipate
developments below, the extension of local independence posits
wiP(xio,p,y,z) - p(xJO',l) (9)
When such a model is found to provide an adequate fit to
data, observing the responses to any subset of items induces a
likelihood function for 0 through (8), and it becomes possible to
draw inferences about individual values of 9 or about their
4 distributions in populations even though different subjects
respond to different items. This capability is particularly
attractive in educational measurement, as when an IRT model can be
used to customize tests to examinees adaptively, or to update the
item pools in educational assessments over time.
If the focus is on measuring individuals for placement or
selection decisions, enough items can be administered to each to
make the likelihood function for his or her 0 peak sharply. A
satisfactorily precise point estimate of each 0, such as the MLE 9
4q or the Bayes mean estimate B - E(O x), can then be obtained. If
__ _ _ _ __ - _
Randomization-Based Inference
14
the focus is on the parameters a of a population distribution of
0, however, these locally optimal point estimates can be decidedly
nonoptimal. For a fixed test of fixed length, their distributions
do not converge to the true distribution of 0 as examinee samples
increase. It becomes necessary to estimate a directly, bypassing
the intermediary stage of calculating point estimates for
individuals.
Suppose the data matrix x consisted of response vectors
(xI .... xN) of an SRS of respondents. The starting point for the
direct estimation of the parameters a of the density function
p(Ola) in this context would be the marginal probability:
N
p(xI,fl) - H f P(xi1O,P) p(Ola) dO (10)
i-i
A number of recent papers in the statistical and psychometric
literature show how to obtain Bayesian or maximum likelihood
estimates of a and/or 6 using (10) (e.g., Andersen and Madsen,
1977; Bock and Aitkin, 1981; Dempster, Laird, and Rubin, 1977;
Laird, 1978; Mislevy, 1984, 1985; Sanathanan and Blumenthal, 1978;
and Rigdon and Tsutakawa, 1983). As they are presented, however,
these methods are poorly suited to general analyses of survey data
involving latent variables. As well as being limited to SRS data,
*they require advanced statistical concepts and iterative computing
methodologies that render them inaccessible to the typical
secondary analyst.
I1 ...-
Randomization-Based Inference
15
Latent Variables as Missing Responses
A key insight for dealing with latent variables in sample
surveys is to view them as survey varf ibles whose responses are
missing for every respondent (e.g., Dempster, Laird, and Rubin,
1977, on factor analysis models). Their missingness satisfies MAR
because they are missing regardless of their values, and as such
are amenable to the (relatively) simple procedures for MAR missing
data described above. In essence, knowledge about subjects'
latent variables 0 will be represented in the form of predictive
distributions conditional on what can be observed- -background
survey variables y, design variables z, and item responses x whose
distributions are assumed to be governed by 0.
Suppose the object of inference is the scalar S - S(,,,)
some function of the population values of latent variables, item
response variables, background survey variables, or design
variables of all units. Suppose further that a sample design has
been specified. Three assumptions are central to drawing
randomization-based inferences about S. The first is that one
would know how to proceed if values of 0 were observed rather than
latent:
Assumption 1. If values of 0 could be observed from sampled
respondents, along with values of x and y, a sample statistic s=
s(,xZ) and an associated variance estimator U - U(O,x,Z) would
be available for randomization-based inference about S, via
(s-S) - N(O,U).
Randomization-Based Inference
16
Inferences about S cannot be based on a direct calculation of
s because all values of 0 are missing. As before, however, one
can base inferences on its conditional expectation given what is
known--the sample values x and X and the population values Z--by
adapting (1) as follows:
E(slx,X) = f s(O,x,y) p(I d.
,lx,Z) (11)
The second and third assumptions are needed to define the
predictive distribution for 0 that appears in (11), namely
p(Ojx,q,Z). These assumptions are embodied in the latent variable
model and a superpopulation structure for distributions of 0 given
background survey variables and design variables.
Assumption 2. Item responses x are governed by the latent
variable 0 through a model of known functional form, p(xlOf),
characterized by possibly unknown parameters 6 and satisfying the
local independence properties (8) and (9). Independence is
assumed over subjects, so that
P(XI6,fi,,Z) = P(XIO,P)
N
= H P(Xii,p) (12)
i
Assumption 3. The distribution of latent variables given
collateral survey variables y and design variables z follows a
Randomization-Based Inference
17
known functional form, p(Oly,z,a), characterized by possibly
unknown parameters a. Independence is assumed over subjects, so
that
N
p(O[y,Z,a) = H p(ilYi,zi,a) (13)
i
It is important to note that these distributions are
conditioned on the design variables z employed in the sampling
design. While the sample design for selecting units from the
existing population may be complex, sampling this population from
the hypothetical superpopulation is SRS given z. This is the
essence of the model-based approach to sampling-survey inference.
It is used in this presentation not to handle uncertainty due to
sampling examinees, but to build conditional distributions for
latent variables, since it opens the door to the aforementioned
methods of estimating the parameters of latent-variable
distributions from SRS data.
To see how Assumptions 2 and 3 lead to p(OIx,y,Z), first
consider some relationships conditional on a and P. Using Bayes
theorem, then (12) and (13), gives
p(OIx,X,Z,a,#) = Ka p(XIO',X,Z,afi) p(yI,Z,afi)
Randomization-Based Inference
18
N
H Kip P(xilOi,fl) p(ilyi,zi,a) , (14)
i
where the normalizing constants K = P(xi yi,zi,a,,) depend on a
and f but not on 6..
1 Given a and 6, then, the predictive
distribution for the latent variable 0.
1
of Subject i, or
p( ilxiYizia,,), would be obtained by normalizing the product
of (i) the likelihood function induced for 0 by x.1 via the latent-
variable model (8), and (ii) the conditional distribution for 0
implied by his or her background and design variables yi and z.
Multiple Imputations for Latent Variables
The preceding paragraphs give the framework for
randomization-based inference with latent variables in sample
surveys. To operationalize the approach with multiple imputations
requires specializing the procedure outlined above as follows:
1. Obtain the posterior distribution of the parameters P of the
latent-variable model and a of the conditional distributions
of 0, namely p(a,fIx,q,Z), by the methods discussed in
connection with (10)--for example, a large sample normal
approximation based on the MLE (a,#) and asymptotic
covariance matrix Za.
th
2. Produce M "completed" datasets (9(m),Xy). For the mth
Randomization-Based Inference
19
a. Draw a value (af) from P( ,plx,yZ). (If a and
have been estimated very precisely, it may be acceptable
to use (arB) for each completed dataset in what is
commonly known as an empirical Bayes approximation.
This expedient introduces a tendency to underestimate
the uncertainty associated with final estimates of S.)
b. For each respondent, draw a value from the predictive
distribution p(Oxiyizi,(Czf)-(at)()). Taken
together, the resulting imputation for 0.
i
and his or her
observed values of x,, y, and z. constitute the
"completed" response of Subject i.
3. Using each completed dataset, calculate s(m)=s(0(m),xy) and
U m=U( (m),x,y).
4. The final estimate of S is the average of the M estimates
from the completed datasets, or sM = Z s(M ) / M
5. The estimated sampling variance of sM as an estimate of S,
namely VM, is the sum of two components:
VM - UM + (I+M " 1 ) BM ,
where U M and B M are defined as for (5), to quantify
uncertainty due to sampling subjects and the latency of 0,
respectively.
Randomization-Based Inference
20
6. If inferences about S would have been based on (s-S) - N(O,U)
had all responses been observed, inferences are now based on
(sM-S) - tI(O,VM), a t-distribution with degrees of freedom v
given in (6).
These procedures apply to vector-valued latent variables 9 as
well as scalars. Extensions to vector-valued S are as discussed
4previously.
Steps 1 and 2 above produce M completed datasets that can be
used to draw inferences about any number of sample statistics by
applying Steps 3-6 repeatedly. An attractive feature of the
approach is that the sophisticated methodologies and heavy
computation are isolated in Steps 1 and 2, which can be carried
out just once--probably by the institution held responsible for
primary data analysis, where the necessary expertise and resources
are more likely to be available. The completed datasets are then
provided to secondary researchers, who need only apply standard
routines for complete data M times and combine the results in
simple ways.
Example 2: Multiple Imputation under Classical Test Theory
This example lays out imputation procedures for when the
latent-variable model is the classical true-score test model with
normal errors, and there are two collateral survey variables. In
order to focus on the construction and the nature of imputations,
it is assumed that a large SRS will be drawn from a multivariate
Randomization-Based Inference
21
normal population with known parameters. There are four variables
for each subject:
0, the latent variable, is examinee "true score;"
x is examinee observed score; and
y, and Y 2 are collateral examinee variables.
Consistent with true-score test theory with normal errors,
assume that x = 6 + e, where the residual or error term e is
2
distributed N(O,a ) independently of 0, yI, and Y2. The latent
e Y
variable model is thus
p(xJO) - N(O, 2 ) (14)
e
Assume further that (6,yly 2) follows a standard multivariate
normal distribution in the population, so that jointly,
(x,6,yly 2) - MVN(O,Z) with
l+u2 (sym)
e
1 1
r 1r 911
r62 r0 2 r1 2 1
Z will refer to the covariance matrix for y=(yly 2 ).
-y
The conditional distribution of 0 given y is obtained as
p(Oly) - 2 (15)
where
Randomization-Based Inference
22
'Y = I112 Yl + 2 11 Y2 E(O1y), and
2 2
°Oly
where R 2 is the proportion of variance of 6 accounted for by y.
In this example, f 1 1 2 =(r0 1 -r02 r 1 2 )/(l-r 1 2 2) and P211-
2 2
(r 2 -r 1 r1 2 )/(l-r . It follows that p(xly) - N(fi'y,a ), with
2 a =a 2 +u. 2
axly a 6 ly e
In addition to the multiple regression coefficients there are
simple regression coefficients for 0 or x on yl or Y 2 alone; e.g.,
1
E(O1Yl) = E(xlyl) = Y =-(112 + r 1 2 f2l1 ) Yl
In this example, 8lr 01 and P 2 -r02 .
Define the "conditional rcliability" p of x as a measure of
0 given y as
2 / 2 a2
PC = ly / (a 1y + Oe)
2 2
Note that Op l and pCaxly - a~y.
An imputation for a sampled subject will be drawn from a
predictive distribution of the form p(6lx,yl which is
proportional to p(xJ6) p(Oly). The first factor in this product
is the likelihood, which in this example is N(x,a ); the MLE is in
e
fact simply x. The second factor is the conditional density of 6
given y, which is N(P'y,a 2). By Kelley's (1947) formula,
0
0 .
Randomization-Based Inference
23
p(Olx,y) - N(O,a 2
OIXY
where
i E(01x,y) Pcx + (1-p C ) f'y
and
2 2 22
2 x Var(Olx,y) - (1-P ) a (I-P )(1-R )
OIxy c Oly C
An imputation 8 - 8(x,y) is thus constructed as
9 - 0 + f
where f is drawn at random from N(O,a 2 ).
For a given individual, an imputation is not an optimal point
estimate of 0. It is neither unbiased nor efficient, as is the
MLE O-x; nor does it minimize mean square error over the
population, as does 0. But it can be shown that the distribution
of (6,y) is multivariate normal with the same mean vector and
* covariance matrix as that of (O,y). For the population mean, for
example,
E(O) - E[p cx + (i-P C) f'y +f]
- PcE(X) + (1-p f' E(y) + E(f)
- Pc 0 + (1-p) ' 0 + 0
0 ...
Randomization-Based Inference
24
-E(O)
For the covariance between 6 andy,
Gov(9,yl) - E([pcx + (1-p) P'y +f] y1
- E[pcxy1 ] + E[(l-p C)(p 11 2 y1 +p2 lly 2) y11 + E[fyl]
- p r01 + (l-pc)L01, 2 E(y1 2 + 21 1 E (yly2 )] + 0
-p r6 + (l-P)+p, r12
p r81 + (l-p) r81
- ov(6,y1 )
By similar calculation,
Var(6) - 1 - Var(6)
E(Ojy) - '6'y - E(Ojy)
Var(Oly) - a - VrOy
E(Oly 1 ) - 161 '1 - E(O1y 1 ) ,and
*Var(P1y,) - 1 r01 - Var(Plyl)
Given that the mean of 0 is an unbiased estimate of the mean
of 6, how much does uncertainty increase when x and Xare observed
!2
Randomization-Based Inference
i2 25
IIX
rather than 0 itself? For an SRS of size N, the SEM 2for N
observations of 6 is U-l/N. For large M, the variance among
estimates of the population mean from the completed datasets is
the variance of the average of N realizations of f, or c2 I/N.
The total variance for an estimate of the mean based on many
imputations is the sum of these components, representing an
inflation from 1/N of (1-p )(1-R ) percent--the proportion of
variance in 6 unexplained by x and y.
It has been shown that treating Os as Os, one obtains the
correct expectations for estimates of population attributes such
as percentile points, conditional distributions, and proportions-
of-variance-accounted-for. In contrast, treating either Os or s
as Os one obtains estimates for some attributes that have the
cor-ect expectations for some attributes, but not for others. For
estimating the mean of 8, all three turn out to have the correct
expectation of zero. For the variance, the expectation using
imputations is the correct value of one, but the expected
* -2 2
variances of 0 and 0 are +ae and 1-a respectively.
Table 1 gives the expectations of estimates of some
population attributes that result when various point estimates of
o are treated as if they were 0. Imputations 0 appear there, as
well as the MLE 0 (-x). The Bayes estimate referred to above as
poplaio atrbtstaxeutwevrospitetmtso
is denoted x to indicate that it is conditional on both x a y;
another Bayes estimate often used in practice, denoted in the
table as Ox, ignores y. The variance of is known to be less
Randomization-Based Inference
26
than that of 0, so it is sometimes suggested that 6x values be
inflated by the factor needed to bring their variance up to that
of 0. The resulting rescaled Bayes estimate is denoted by 0x (r)
While this rescaling corrects the variance of the population as a
whole, it does not completely remove the biases associated with
attributes of conditional distributions involving y.
Table 1 about here
Note that the distortions in secondary analyses of all these
point estimates depend on test reliability. Reliability, and
therefore the magnitudes of biases, will vary if test lengths
differ over time or across respondent groups. Tables 2 and 3
illustrate this point by giving numerical values for the
expressions in Table 1 that are obtained from a test with pT=* 50
and a test with pT=' 9 1 , in both cases with r0 1 - r0 2 - r 1 2 - .50.
The first test has a reliability that might be expected with ten
items on a particular topic that appear on an educational
assessment instrument. The second has a reliability more like
q1-- that of a 60-item achievement test. The biases that occur when
using any of the "optimal" point estimates instead of the
imputations, are readily apparent for the short test but are less
serious for the long test.
Randomization-Based Inference
27
Tables 2 and 3 here
Along with moments of population and subpopulation
distributions, cumulative probabilities are sometimes required--
e.g., P(B I) or P(B 1yl=-l). Statistics of this type are
important in NAEP, where selected points along the proficiency are
14 anchored by behavioral descriptions, and the proportions of
populations and subpopulations above these points are tracked over
time (NAEP, 1985). P(B I), in this example, is the proportion of
the total population above one standard deviation in the standard
normal distribution, or .1587. P(BLllYl--l) is the proportion of
the subpopulation defined by yl--i with B-values higher than one
standard deviation above the total population mean, which, in this
example, is .0418, the proportion of N(-.5,J.75) above 1. Table 4
gives the expectations of these values that obtain when point
estimates of B are treated as B. Even though the regression
estimates for B1 from B and 0 are unbiased, the estimated
population proportions above the cut point are distorted. Again
4the distortion is less serious with the long test.
Insert Table 4 here
-- - - -- - -
Randomization-Based Inference
28
Computing Approximations and Secondary Biases
Obtaining consistent estimates of population attributes with
multiple imputations requires drawing imputations from consistent
estimates of the correct predictive distributions p(Ox,y).
Assuming the latent variable model p(xI0) is specified correctly,
it is possible to obtain detailed nonparametric approximations of
p(0ly), and therefore of p(81x,y), when the dimensionalities of 0
and y are low--say less than five latent variables and five
collateral variables (Mislevy, 1984). When the dimensionalities
of 9 and y are high, however, as in NAEP with its hundreds of
background and attitude items, simplifications and computing
approximations cannot be avoided. This section lays out a general
framework for the problems entailed by using simplified
approximations of p(Oly), derives some explicit results for the
true-score example introduced above, and offers guidelines for
practical applications.
E
The Nature of the Problem
The imputation-based estimate sM(x,y) approximates the
4 expectation of s(0,x,y) defined in (11) by evaluating s with draws
9 from
p(OIx,Y) c
If p(xIO,) p(lIy,E,r) p(a,flx,X,E) do dfl (16)
Randomization-Based Inference
29
As noted above, however, procedures for characterizing p(9I_,z,a)
are neither numerous nor easily applied. It becomes necessary to
approximate these conditional distributions by some tractable
form, such as multivariate normal with a common residual variance
(Mislevy, 1985). Rather than conditioning on all elements of y
and z and their interactions, which may number into the millions,
approximations based on perhaps fewer than a hundred effects must
* suffice. The correct conditional distribution is replaced by the
* *
computing approximation p (Bjy,z,a), which, when combined with
the latent variable model as in (16), yields the computing
approximation from which imputations 8 are drawn:
P (O{5,X,E)
ff p(X {e,) p (OIX,E,a) p(a ,fjx,X,E) da d*f . (17)
While the expectation of sM based on imputations 0 has the
correct value s, the expectation of sM based on imputations 0 may
S
not. Its expectation is
E(sM) Jf s(O,x,y) p (O x,y,z) dO (18)
For a fixed observed sample (x,y), the bias in estimating s caused
* by using p (B1y,z,a) rather than p(O{y,z,a) is thus
Bias = E(sM Ix,) - E(slx,y)
* - ~ s(O,x,y) [p*(OIx,X,z)-p(OIx,X,z)] dO (19)
Randomization-Based Inference
30
Rubin raises the possibility of biases in secondary analyses
when he mentions that the imputer's model may differ from the
analyst's (Rubin, 1987, pp. 107, 109-112, 151). His analyses
suggest that biases for population means and variances may be mild
when filling in a modest number of missing responses in standard
surveys, particularly if the imputer's model is more inclusive
than the analyst's. It will become apparent that thik conclusion
need not hold in the context of latent variables models, however,
especially when practical constraints force the imputer to use a
less inclusive model than the analyst.
Example 2 (continued)
Consider again the multinormal example introduced above, with
its true-score latent variable model xIB - N(,a 2 ) and population
e
model Oly - N(#'y,a 2y). Suppose now that the imputer conditions
on Yl but not Y 2 when building the model from which imputations
are drawn. That is, the correct predictive distribution for
imputations is
,4 2
W y ,a xy
p(Oix,y) = N[px + (-P
but the imputer draws from
* * * 2
y 201xy ]
p (Oix ,y) - N [p x + (l-P ) I ,
I,' c 1y
Randomization-Based Inference
31
where p is the conditional reliability of x given yl but not
or
* 2 2 2 2 2 2
PC) = (l(ral) / (l-r6 1 + ae)
and
2 * 2 * 2
a0 xy = Var(O1x,y) (l-p) a2 (-P )(l-r2 1 )
I
An imputation for Subject i now takes the form
0i = PcXi + (l-pc)plYil + g
I 1 1
where g is a draw from N(O,x2
How do the attributes of the distribution of imputed values
0 fare as estimates of the attributes of the distribution of 6?
By calculations similar to those in the first part of the example,
*
it can be shown that (9 ,y) is normal with mean vector 0, as is
(O,y), and its covariance matrix agrees with that of (9,y) for all
elements except the one for 6 with Y2 . Rather than r02 , one
. obtains
Cov(O 'Y2 ) r 2 c r0
02 - (lpc) r81 r1 2
It follows first that characteristics of the joint
*
distribution of 0 and y, are identical to those of 0 and yl. For
instance,
E(6 ) - 0 - E(6)
S Randomization-Based Inference
32
and
Var(0 ) = 1 = Var(O)
This corresponds to the case in which the imputer's model is more
inclusive than the analyst's, and, as Rubin suggests, the result
is satisfactory. Also, corresponding to the case in which the
imputer and the analyst use the same model, one obtains
*
E(O 1yl) = ily I - E(O-yl)
and
Var(O lyl) = 1-aOIxylI Var(01yl)
The secondary an-j,,- thus obtains the correct expectations for
both marginal a:,alyses of 0 and conditional analyses involving
only 0 ar" the collateral variable that was conditioned on.
Less salubrious are results for analyses involving Y2' the
collateral variable that was not conditioned on. Whereas
4 E(Oly) = E(Ojy) - 01 12 y I + f2 11 Y2
one finds that
E(O ly) - [P112 + (l-P )1r
- 01 12 y 1 + f 2 1 1 [pcy 2 + (l-pc)E(y 2 Yl)
1 ] (20a)
= 0 1 12 y1 + 0 2 1 1 Y2 - (l-p* 2 11 (Y2 -rl2 Yl) (20b)
A bias is thus introduced into the imputations, the nature of
which is to attenuate the contribution from Y 2 , the omitted
Randomization-Based Inference
33
variable. Equation (20a) shows that the contribution associated
with Y 2 is a weighted average of (i) the correct contribution--
fi2 1 1 y2 --to the degree that x is a reliable indicator of 0, and
(ii) to the degree that x is unreliable, a contribution associated
with the expectation of the omitted variable given the observed
value of the conditioned variable. Equation (20b) shows that the
bias can be driven to zero in three ways:
a. As pc+l; i.e., x is a perfectly reliable measure of 0;
b. As P2,1-0; i.e., there is no contribution from Y 2 anyway;
c. As r l2yl'y 2 for all yl; i.e., Y 2 is perfectly predictable
from yI.
Some consequences for regression analyses involving y2 are now
considered.
Whereas the regression coefficient for Y 2 in the multiple
regression of 0 on y is 21 the corresponding coefficient for
211' corsodigcefiin2o
*
in the multiple regression of 6 on y is
P211 = Pc0211 (21)
The expected regression coefficient has been shrunken by the
,
factor (1-p c), the complement of test reliability given yI.
Whereas the regression coefficient for yl in the multiple
regression of 6 on y is obtained as
6"
19. ~.
Randomization-Based Inference
34
112 = (r01-r02r12)/(l-r122
*
the corresponding coefficient in the multiple regression of 0 on
y is
(r 1 -r 2 r 1 2 )/(l-r1 2 (22)
The bias can be expressed as
0
16112 11 2 - (l-Pc) 0 2 11 r1 2
Thus, in the analysis of conditional 9 distributions given both Yl
and Y 2 , bias exists for the coefficient of yl even though it has
been conditioned on. Since r 1 2y I - E(Y 2Iyl), the character of the
bias is to absorb a portion of the unique contribution of the
nonconditioned variable, to the extent that x is unreliable.
Whereas the coefficient P2 for the simple regression of 6 on
Y2 is r02 , the corresponding coefficient for 8 on Y 2 is
+ (23)
02 r0 2 pc r02 ( r81 r12
c-Pc)
The bias with which f2 is estimated from 0 can be expressed as
S - (-r12
* 2
* This bias is reduced as either P, the test reliability, or r2
the propor-;un of Y 2 predictable by y, approaches one, or as the
unique contribution of Y 2 in predicting 0 approaches zero.
0I
Randomization-Based inference
35
To summarize, the degree of biases in secondary analyses
involving variables not conditioned on involves (i) the
reliability of x, (ii) the association between the conditioned and
the nonconditioned collateral variables, and (iii) the unique
contribution of the nonconditioned variable to predicting 0.
Higher values of p are unequivocally helpful, as they reduce
2
biases of all types. Higher values of r12 on the other hand,
12'
mitigate bias in simple regression involving only the
nonconditioned variable, but exacerbate the bias for the
coefficient of the conditioned variable in multiple regression
involving both. These conclusions extend in natural ways to sets
of conditioned and nonconditioned variables (Beaton and Johnson,
1987; Mislevy and Sheehan, 1987).
Table 5 gives values for expected regression coefficients in
*
analyses of 0 and 0 , using the numerical values employed in
Tables 2 and 3. For simple regression, the results for the
conditioned variable are unbiased, and the results for the
nonconditioned variable are comparable in accuracy to those
obtainable from "optimal" point estimates (bearing in mind the
fact that MLEs yield unbiased regression coefficients but biased
conditional variances and percentile points). It can also be seen
that the results of multiple regression are more sensitive to
omitting variables than those of simple regression. These
findings underscore the importance of choosing conditioning
Randomization-Based Inference
36
variables wisely if practical considerations preclude conditioning
on all the background variables that have been surveyed.
Insert Table 5 here
Implications and Recommendations
The foregoing results indicate that care is required to
impute values for latent variables in a way that leads to
acceptably accurate results in secondary analyses. Precise
determination of 0 by item responses x alleviates the problem of
biases, but to do so in the context of educational or
psychological measurement requires large numbers of item responses
from every subject--a design that is inefficient for drawing
inferences about only population attributes. When testing time
for individuals is limited, the imputer must build a computing
approximation p (91y,z) that gives good results for a broad range
of potential statistics s involving 0.
If there are only a small number of values that y and z can
take, and a large number of subjects at each combination of
values, one can obtain a nonparametric estimate for each (y,z)
combination by the methods of Laird (1978) or Mislevy (1984).
This leads to imputations that are free from specification error
in p(Oly,z), and secondary analyses will not suffer from biases
from this source. This approach is simply not possible, though,
Randomization-Based Inference
37
for surveys such as NAEP with large numbers of background and
attitude items.
As mentioned above, one possibility is to assume normal
conditional distributions with structured means and a common
residual variance (Mislevy, 1985). In addition to assuming this
tractable distributional form, further simplification becomes
necessary when there are large numbers of design and background
variables. In ANOVA terms, conditioning on the full joint
distribution of (y,z) could involve millions of effects, while
currently available computing procedures can handle up to about a
hundred. Specifying p wisely means choosing contrasts so as to
optimize the accuracy of potential secondary analyses. Based on
the results of Example 2, the following advice can be offered:
Determine 0 as well as is practical. In the context of
measuring latent proficiencies by test items, recall the
decreasing rate at which reliability increases--and potential
4
biases in secondary analyses thereby decrease--with additional
test items. Trade-offs arise among potential item-sampling
designs. Compared to a design that gives five items to each
subject, a design that gives ten items yields less efficient
estimates of statistics involving variables yc that have been
conditioned on, but less biased estimates of those involving
I
variables yn that have not been conditioned on.
Randomization-Based Inference
38
Borrow information from related scales. As noted earlier,
imputation methods apply to vector-valued latent variables. In
such applications, one estimates multivariate conditional
distributions p(Oy,z), combines them with multidimensional
likelihoods p(xJ6), and draws vector-valued imputations from joint
predictive distributions p(Olx,y,z). This was done in the NAEP
survey of Young Adult Literacy (Kirsch and Jungeblut, 1986), where
e a each respondent was presented five to fifteen items in each of
four IRT literacy scales. The population correlations of about .6
among scales sharpened the predictive distribution of each scale
for an individual: while the information available directly about
the scale was worth ten items, the thirty items from the other
scales indirectly contributed information worth about another ten.
The biases in secondary analyses were thus reduced as much by
using multivariate imputations for the four scales jointly as they
would have been under separate univariate imputations with twice
* as many items.
Condition explicitly on contrasts that are particularly
K important, such as treatment group in a survey designed expressly
to compare treatment effects in a program evaluation. By doing
so, one ensures that the marginal subpopulation means or
r0 regression coefficients involving key variables are estimated as
accurately as possible. Note that y can include interactions as
well as main effects.
Randomization-Based Inference
39
Condition on well-chosen combinations of variables. Given
current computational limits, it will often be impossible to
condition on the main effects of all background variables, let
alone two-way or higher interactions among them. One can reduce
biases for a large number of contrasts of interest, beyond those
that can be conditioned on explicitly, by conditioning on linear
combinations of contrasts--for example, the first h component
scores from a principal components decomposition of the covariance
matrix among effects. The results of Example 2 imply that the
variation these partially-conditioned-upon variables share with
the explicitly-conditioned-upon component scores will have
salutary effects in secondary analyses. The degree of bias for an
effect will be limited to the proportion of its variance
unaccounted for by the conditioned-upon components, times the
complement of conditional test reliability.
Example 3: The 1984 NAEP Reading Assessment
During the 1983-84 school year, the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) surveyed the reading and writing
skills of national probability samples of students at ages 9, 13,
and 17, and in the modal grades associated with those ages, namely
4, 8, and 11. Beaton (1987) gives details of assessment
procedures and analyses. This section of the present paper
highlights the multiple-imputations procedures used in the
analysis of the reading data.
I]
Randomization-Based Inference
40
The Student-Sampling Design
A multistage probability sampling design was employed to
select students into the NAEP sample, with counties or groups of
counties as the primary sampling units (PSUs). Schools served as
second-stage sampling units. The assignment of testing sessions
of different types to sampled schools was the third stage of
sampling, and the selection of students within schools was the
fourth. A total of 64 PSUs appeared in the sample, and
assessments were administered at 1,465 schools. About 20,000
students were assessed in reading at each grade/age cohort. For
convenience, grade/age cohorts will be referred to below simply by
their age designations.
Sampling was stratified at the first stage according to
geographic regions, Census Bureau "Sample Description of
Community" (SDOC) classes, and, within urban and rural SDOC
classes, a measure of SES; the latter two criteria comprise Size
* and Type of Community (STOC) classes. Selection probabilities of
sampling units were inversely proportional to estimated population
size, except that extreme rural and low-SES urban areas were
*" oversampled by a factor of two. Neglecting minor adjustments for
nonresponse and poststratification, the design variables Z were
therefore region, STOC, PSU, and school membership.
*Population means and totals of survey variables were computed
as weighted sample means and totals, with a student's weight
essentially inversely proportional to his or her probability of
I
Randomization-Based Inference
41
selection. Uncertainty of such a statistic s due to student
sampling was approximated with a multiweight jackknife procedure.
Thirty-two pairs of similar PSUs were designated. Approximating
the uncertainty of s required computing it 33 times: once in a run
with the total sample, and once with a run corresponding to each
[ PSU pair, with one of its members left out of the sample but with
the sampling weight of its partner doubled. The variance of the
[
32 jackknife estimates around the total value is U, the estimated
sampling variance of s around S.
6
The Survey Variables
L
Each student responded to a number of survey items (Y)
tapping demographic status, educational background and reading
practices, and attitudes about reading and writing. About 50
were common to all assessment forms. Examples are gender,
parents' education, ethnicity, and time spent watching television.
Another 300, of which a given student would receive between about
10 and 30 under the assessment's balanced incomplete block (BIB)
item-sampling design, addressed reading activities in the home and
school.
A total of 340 multiple-choice and free-response reading
* exercises were used in the assessment, although a student who
received any reading exercises received between 5 and 50 of them
under the BIB design. About 80 percent of the students received
some reading exercises. A few of the exercises appeared at all
three ages, but most appeared in only one or in two adjacent ages.
Randomization-Based Inference
42
The Latent-Variable Model
A priori considerations and extensive dimensionality analyses
supported summarizing responses to a subset of 228 of the 340
items by an IRT model for a single underlying proficiency variable
0 (Zwick, 1987). Responses to these items will be denoted by x.
The 3-parameter logistic (3PL) IRT model was used. Under the 3PL,
the probability of a correct response to Item j from a student
with proficiency 0 is given by
P(x(j)=l0,ab j , b j ,c ) - c + (l-c.)/(l+exp[-l.7a.(0-b)] ,
where x-l indicates a correct response and x-0 an incorrect one,
while (aj,bj,c.) are parameters that characterize the regression
of x M on 0. Coupled with this model for a single item, the
assumptions of local independence embodied by (8) and (9) give the
likelihood function p(xlO,8) [-p(xiB,P,y,z)] for a response vector
x to any subset of the 228 items. Here P denotes the vector of
item parameters of all 228 items in the scale.
Students receiving any of the 228 reading items in the scale
at all received between 5 and 40 of them, with the average about
17. The responses of a sample of 10,000 students were used with a
modified version of Mislevy and Bock's (1983) BILOG computer
program to estimate 3PL item parameters. The modifications
allowed the c-parameters of free-response items to be set to zero
a priori, and distinguished age cohorts when computing marginal
probabilities of students' response patterns. The latter
Randomization-Based Inference
43
extension is necessary to achieve consistent item parameter
estimates since items were assigned to cohorts based on prior
knowledge about the proficiencies of the cohorts--younger students
were generally administered easier items--but that consistency
holds whether or not sampling weights within cohorts are used
(Mislevy and Sheehan, in press). The resulting item parameter
estimates were placed on a scale in which the unweighted
calibration sample of students was standardized. This scale is
arbitrary up to a linear transformation, so any other convention
would have served equally well to set the scale. The resulting
estimates were taken as fixed throughout the remainder of the
study, thereby fixing the origin and unit-size of the 6 scale.
The Imputation Model
The ideal population model p(Oly,z) to use in conjunction
with p(Olx,B) is a joint distribution involving hundreds of survey
variables and background and attitude items. The computer program
available to estimate a latent population distribution was a
prototype developed for Mislevy's (1985) 4-group example, with
ANOVA-type structures on the means and normal residuals with a
common within-group variance. In the time available to meet NAEP
reporting deadlines, it was possible to extend the program to a
design with 17 effects. A main effects model was chosen that
focused accuracy on traditional NAEP reporting categories: sex,
ethnicity, STOC, region, and parental education, along with
indicators for at, above, or below modal grade and age. A
Randomization-Based Inference
44
"miscellaneous" cell was included in the model for the small
fraction of students whose values on the aforementioned items were
unrecoverable. Altogether, these variables comprised the vector
(y,z) c . The following model was assumed for conditional
distributions:
91y,z - N[(y,z)c'r,a 2
j 2
where r is a vector of seventeen main effect parameters and a is
2
the residual variance. Together, r and a comprise the
superpopulation parameter a referred to in preceding sections.
Note that the design variables Z are captured largely but
not completely, as STOC and region have been included but PSU,
school membership, and interaction terms have not been. Because
PSU and school-level variation are largely explained by the
conditioned-upon region and SES indicators STOC and parental
education, however, biases caused the omission of PSU and school
c
membership in (y,z) are largely mitigated.
2
Maximum likelihood estimates of r and a were obtained
separately within ages using all available reading data--over
20,000 respondents per age. Separate age analyses implicitly
allow for all two-way interactions between cohort and each of the
other effects. The results are shown in Table 6. Like item
parameter estimates, these estimates were also taken as known true
values thereafter.
I
Randomization-Based Inference
45
Table 6 about here
The posterior distribution of each student i was approximated
by a histogram over 40 equally spaced points 8 between -4.785 and
th
+4.785. The weight of the qth bar in the histogram for the 1
student was obtained as follows:
I
^ A
cc P(x il0= q,"6=0) P(0=8 lY Ci,ZiC ,a=Q)
P(e q IX y,z.) - * c c ^ , (24)
q P(X i 0=8s ,0=0) P(0=es lyi,zia=)
c c
where P(0=8 S ly1i z 1i,ct=a) is the density at 85 of the normal pdf
with mean (y,z)C'rF
1
and the residual variance for the age group to
which Student i belongs. Each imputation was drawn from this
distribution in two steps. First, a bar was selected at random in
accordance with the weights determined in (24). Second, a point
was selected at random from a uniform density over the 0 range
spanned by the selected bar. (Logistic interpolation would have
been better.) Five imputations were drawn in this manner for each
student in the sample.
Illustrative Results
The results of primary interest in this first analysis of the
1984 data were the mean proficiencies of the subpopulations
determined by the traditional NAEP reporting categories. A given
weighted mean was calculated five times, once from each completed
Randomization-Based Inference
46
data set. The average of the five was the reported estimate. A
jackknife variance was also calculated from each completed
dataset, with the imputations in the set treated as known true
values of 0; these values were also averaged, to estimate U. The
reported variance was the sum of this average jackknife variance
and 1+M- =1.2 times the variance of the five aforementioned means.
In order to avoid negative numbers and fractional values, the
original 0 scale was linearly transformed by 500 + 250.5. Table 7
illustrates some results for Age 17. The full public report is
available as The Reading Report Card: Progress toward Excellence
in our Schools (NAEP, 1985).
Table 7 about here
The proportional increase in variance due to the latency of
6, denoted earlier as rM, varies from 2 percent up to nearly 30
percent. The largest increase is associated with a lower-than-
average scoring group, for whom the test items were relatively
more difficult. The proficiencies of low-scoring individuals were
determined less precisely by their item responses, so that the
K9 likelihoods induced for 6, and the consequent posterior
distributions p(O1x,y,z) from which their imputations were drawn,
were more dispersed. Estimated means from such subpopulations
tended to vary more widely across completed datasets than would
r,
Randomization-Based Inference
47
means for groups of similar size whose typical members were
measured more accurately by their item responses.
Biases in Secondary Analyses
The completed datasets described above were constructed so as
to focus their accuracy on the marginal subpopulation means
featured in The Reading Report Card. As discussed in a previous
section, however, analyses involving survey variables that were
not conditioned on are subject to bias. An opportunity soon arose
to examine such biases. A report on reading proficiency levels
among pupils whose primary language was not English came due, the
analysis plan for which specified multiple regression analyses
involving both variables that had and variables that had not been
conditioned on when imputations for the original analysis were
constructed. Aware that the proposed analyses were sensitive to
failure to condition, the NAEP staff created new completed
datasets in which all the variables required in the analyses were
conditioned upon. This was made possible by Sheehan's (1985) M-
2
GROUP computer program for estimating r and a in larger models.
Some fifty effects were included in the recalculations for each
age. The same multiple regression analyses were carried out
twice, once with the original completed datasets and once with new
ones created with extended conditioning vectors. The results of
one such comparison are summarized in Table 8. Baratz-Snowden and
Duran (1987) give the final results of all runs.
Randomization-Based Inference
48
Table 8 about here
It may be seen that multiple regression coefficients for the
two effects which were conditioned upon in both analyses were
least affected in the recalculation, differing by amounts only 4
and 9 percent of their new estimated values. Coefficients for
significant effects not originally conditioned on, however,
differed by between 10 and 40 percent. The direction of the
difference, in nearly all of these cases, was that the original
estimates were shrunken toward zero. Performing the analysis on
the original completed datasets would correctly inform the
researcher about the directions of effects, but would tend to
underestimate their magnitudes by an average of 30-percent.
Extensions
The experience with multiple imputation procedures gained
with the 1984 reading assessment led to a number of insights on
how to extend or improve the procedures. Four are mentioned
below.
Multivariable Imputation. The preceding discussions have
concentrated on the case of a single latent variable. While this
proved adequate for summarizing reading data, both empirical and
theoretical evidence demonstrate the need for multiple scales in
broader content areas such as mathematics and science. NAEP
Randomization-Based Inference
49
extended multiple imputations procedures to the case of four
variables in the Young Adult Literacy Assessment (Kirs' ai.d
Jungeblut, 1986), and later applied these procedures to five
subscales each to analyze the 1986 mathematics and scipn,
assessments (Beaton, 1988).
In the multivariable case, each latent variable--a different
aspect of, say, literacy skill--is defined through an IRT model.
Assuming conditional independence, the four-dimensional likelihood
p(xI ..... x4611 ... 64) is simply the product of the four
univariate IRT likelihoods, or ITP(xklok). The conditional
distributions p(6 1 ... 4 1y,z) are generally not independent,
however, their associations reflecting population correlations
among skills. The predictive distributions
P(1 0 4 1Xl .... x 4 ,Yz) from which imputations are drawn
reflect these associations. Compared to carrying out imputation
procedures separately within each scale, the multivariable
solution exploits information from all scales to strengthen
inferences about each, and yields consistent, rather than
attenuated, estimates of association among the scales.
Conditioning on Principal Components. An aspect of multiple
imputation procedures that requires improvement is the accuracy of
multiple regression analyses that include nonconditioned
background variables. Conditioning on more background variables
with Sheehan's (1985) improved M-GROUP program certainly increases
the number of secondary analyses whose accuracy will be improved,
Randomization-Based Inference
50
but research is currently under way to determine how to choose
them wisely. As mentioned above, conditioning on well-chosen
linear combinations of large numbers of variables holds promise.
Analyses of the 1988 data will examine gains in accuracy
attainable with different combinations of numbers of effects
conditioned upon explicitly and effects conditioned on partially,
though principal components.
Accounting for Uncertainty in a and Q. Analyses to date have
taken estimates of item parameters P and conditional distribution
parameters a as known, thereby neglecting the component of
uncertainty associated with them. Present indications are that
the resulting overstatement of precision is negligible because of
the huge sample sizes from which these effects are estimated, but
research is under way to develop efficient methods for
incorporating uncertainty about them as well as about 0. One
approach to doing so is leans on asymptotic results, drawing from
multivariate normal (aB) distributions with means given by MLEs
and variances given by inverses of information matrices. An
alternative approach is to draw from multivariate distributions
whose mean and variance matrix were obtained by a jackknife
procedure. The latter is more intensive computationally, but
captures variation due to lack of model fit as well as due to
sampling.
Randomization-Based Inference
51
The Average Response Method (ARM). To analyze the data from
the 1984 NAEP survey of writing, Beaton and Johnson (1987) worked
out multiple imputation procedures for the setting of general
linear models. They address the problem of characterizing the
distribution of the average of ratings over all writing exercises-
-a straightforward problem when every examinee is presented all
exercises, but effectively a latent variable problem under an
item-sampling design in which each examinee takes only a few
exercises from the pool. Computational procedures are simpler
under the ARM than with IRT models because the assumed linearity
of relationships permits noniterative unweighted least squares
solutions. Expressions for estimation, imputation, and
expectation in secondary analyses offer insight into the problem
for those familiar with the theory of general linear models.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the decade, Bock, Mislevy, and Woodson
(1982) hailed item response theory as a cornerstone of progress
for educational assessment. Assuming that one can manage the
challenges of control and consistency that arise in any study that
extends over time, IRT does indeed make it possible to solve many
practical problems in assessment, such as allowing item pools to
evolve over time, providing results on a consistent scale in the
face of complex item-sampling designs, and reducing the numbers of
items students are presented.
9
.
i~7
Randomization-Based Inference
52
Possible, but not necessarily easy. Familiar IRT procedures,
based on obtaining point estimates for individual examinees, break
down in efficient assessments that solicit relatively few
responses from each student. This paper and others on IRT in
assessment (e.g., Mislevy and Bock, 1988) make it clear that
higher levels of theoretical and computational complexity are
required to realize the benefits IRT offers.
This paper argues that Rubin's (1987) multiple imputation
procedures provide a suitable theoretical framework for latent
variables in sample surveys, and illustrates how the procedures
can be applied. This method has the advantage of placing the
burden of the problem on the primary analyst, who must create
completed datasets. With them, the secondary analysts can carry
out their research using standard routines for complete data.
0O
Randomization-Based Inference
53
References
Andersen, E.B., and Madsen, M. (1977) Estimating the parameters
of a latent population distribution. Psychometrika, 42, 357-
374.
Baratz-Snowden, J.C., and Duran, R. (1987). The Educational
Progress of Language Minority Students: Findings from the
1983-84 NAEP Reading Survey. Princeton: National Assessment
of Educational Progress/Educational Testing Service.
Beaton, A.E. (1987). The NAEP 1983/84 Technical Report (NAEP
Report 15-TR-20). Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Beaton, A.E. (1988). The NAEP 1985/86 Technical Report.
Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Beaton, A.E., and Johnson, E.J. (1987). The average response
method (ARM) of scoring. In A.E. Beaton, The NAEP 1983/84
Technical Report (NAEP Report 15-TR-20). Princeton:
Educational Testing Service.
Bock, R.D., and Aitkin, M. (1981). Marginal maximum likelihood
estimation of item parameters: An application of an EM
algorithm. Psychometrika, 46, 443-459.
Bock, R.D., Mislevy, R.J., and Woodson, C.E.M. (1982). The next
stage in educational assessment. Educational Researcher, 11,
4-11, 16.
Cassel, C-M, Sarndal, C-E., and Wretman, J.H. (1977). Foundations
of Inference in Survey Sampling. New York: Wiley.
Cochran, W.G. (1977). Sampling Techniques. New York: Wiley.
Randomization-Based Inference
54
Dempster, A.P., Laird, N.M., and Rubin, D.B. (1977). Maximum
likelihood from incomplete data via the EM algorithm (with
discussion). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society,
Series B, 39, 1-38.
Ford, B.L. (1983). An overview of hot-deck procedures. In W.G.
Madow, I. Olkin, and D.B. Rubin (Eds.), Incomplete Data in
Sample Surveys, Volume 2. Theory and Bibliographies. New
York: Academic Press.
Kelly, T.L. (1947). Fundamentals of Statistics. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
Kirsch, I.S., and Jungeblut, A. (1986). Literacy: Profile of
America's Young Adults (Final Report, No. 16-PL-01).
Princeton, NJ: National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Laird, N.M. (1978). Nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation
of a mixing distribution. Journal of the American
Statistical Association, 73, 805-811.
Little, R.J.A., and Rubin, D.B. (1987). Statistical Analysis with
Missing Data. New York: Wiley.
Mislevy, R.J. (1984). Estimating latent distributions.
Psychometrika, 49, 359-381.
Mislevy, R.J. (1985). Estimation of latent group effects.
Journal of the American Statistical Association, 80, 993-997.
Mislevy, R.J., and Bock, R.D. (1983). BILOG: Item Analysis and
Test Scoring with Binary Logistic models [computer program].
Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software, Inc.
L
Randomization-Based Inference
55
Mislevy, R.J., and Bock, R.D. (1988). A hierarchical item
response model for educational assessment. In R.D. Bock
(Ed.), Multilevel Analysis of Educational Data. New York:
Academic Press.
Mislevy, R.J., and Sheehan, K.M. (1987). Marginal estimation
procedures. In A.E. Beaton, The NAEP 1983/84 Technical
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0 Testing Service.
Mislevy, R.J., and Sheehan, K.M. (in press). The role of
collateral information about examinees in the estimation of
item parameters. Psychometrika.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (1985). The Reading
Report Card: Progress toward Excellence in our Schools.
Princeton: Educational Testing Service.
Rigdon, S. E., and Tsutakawa, R.K. (1983). Parameter estimation
in latent trait models. Psychometrika, 48, 567-574.
6 Rubin, D.B. (1976). Inference and missing data. Biometrika, 63.
581-592.
Rubin, D.B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in
surveys. New York: Wiley.
Sanathanan, L, and Blumenthal, N. (1978) The logistic model and
estimation of latent structure. Journal of the American
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Sheehan, K.M. (1985). M-GROUP: Estimation of Group Effects in
.. ..
. ......
Randomization-Based Inference
56
Multivariate Models [computer program]. Princeton:
Educational Testing Service.
Zwick, R. (1987). Assessing the dimensionality of NAEP reading
data. Journal of Educational Measurement, 24, 293-308.
0
Randomization-Based Inference
57
C W --
I,- Z
0 ,- t
ii -4
ZL
C4II C lb+
I 1 -p3 ,, I€1
iiii I3 - - (N
0 %-4
0) ) I
CO N-4
M C t Q)-
-
'-4 a) -44 q --
b .-4
-4 4 C1 - -4J
.-
o1-
'
4 00N
~ .Jo ,
a) IC4 r) - ) , )Q
a-
_44 4J
...
-4 1 _ $ . r
4) 4.. Z 4- C O 0 M :
-4 C4a -4C') 4
o H + 0. 4 a)M- 4M (
H CL- 1 c . o u C w > C
I 0) .I0 M
04> E
Randomization-Based Inference
58
Table 2
Numerical Values for a Short Assessment Instrument
Dependent Variable
Population - A
Attribute 0 and 6 6 (r)
xy x x
Mean .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
Variance 1.000 2.000 .600 .500 1.000
*I Simple
Regression
Coefficient .500 .500 .500 .250 .354
Residual
Variance .750 1.750 .350 .438 .875
% variance
accounted for .250 .125 .417 .125 .125
.................................................................
Table 3
Numerical Values for a Long Test
Dependent Variable
4 Population - A
6 0 0 (r)
Attribute 0 and 6
xy x x
Mean .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
Variance 1.000 1.100 .940 .910 1.000
Simple
Regression
Coefficient .500 .500 .500 .455 .477
Residual
Variance .750 .850 .690 .703 .773
% variance
accounted for .250 .227 .266 .227 .227
.................................................................
Randomization-Based Inference
59
Table 4
Estimated Proportions Above Cut Point
Dependent Variable
Population - *
Attribute 0 and 0 9 9 (r)
xy x x
Short Test
P(9:I) .1587 .2611 .0985 .0778 .1587
P(6Ollyl=-l) .0418 .1292 .0055 .0294 .0735
Long Test
P(9 I) .1587 .1711 .1515 .1469 .1587
P(9O11yl=-i) .0418 .0516 .0351 .0409 .0465
Table 5
Expected Regression Coefficients for a Short and a Long Test,
with Complete and Incomplete I Conditioning for Imputations
Dependent Variable
Population * *
Attribute 0 and 0 6 (pT* 50) 0 (pT=.91)
Simple regression
O1 .500 .500 .500
02 .500 .357 .471
Multiple regression
0112 .333 .429 .353
0211 .333 .143 .294
I Imputations constructed by conditioning on y1 but not Y 2 "
Randomization-Based Inference
60
Table 6
Estimates of Conditional Distribution Parameters
Grade 4/ Grade 8/ Grade 11/
Effect Level Age 9 Age 13 Age 17
.................................................................
Intercept All subjects -1.351 -.433 .159
Gender Male .000 .000 .000
Female .096 .139 .160
,
Ethnicity Black .000 .000 .000
White & other .460 .403 .405
Hispanic .076 .113 .135
STOC Rural or Low metro .000 .000 .000
High metro .490 .308 .230
Other .245 .122 .148
Region Northeast .000 .000 .000
Central -.133 -.042 .028
Southeast -.009 -.021 .023
West -.087 -.042 .005
Parent Ed. Less than HS .000 .000 .000
High school grad .209 .140 .082
Beyond HS .395 .404 .379
Don't know/missing .120 -.017 -.075
Grade/Age < M age, = M grade .000 .000 .000
S= M age, < M grade -.672 -.433 -.617
= M age, = M grade -.065 -.013 -.084
= M age, > M grade .338 .549 .077
> M age, = M grade -.307 -.260 -.533
Misc. Subjects with
* unrecoverable
missing values .510 -.329 .810
Residual variance .464 .386 .457
Sample size 22,950 23,553 23,932
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Effect fixed at zero
"M" denotes "modal"; e.g., "> M age, - M grade" means "above
the modal age and at the modal grade in one's age/grade
cohort."
Randomization-Based Inference
61
Table 7
Estimating Age 17 Means from Completed Datasets
Total Males Black West Rural
.................................................................
(1) Imputation 1 288.005 282.644 266.195 287.177 282.990
(2) Imputation 2 288.258 283.201 265.104 288.338 283.499
(3) Imputation 3 288.208 282.869 265.259 288.018 283.285
(4) Imputation 4 288.135 282.554 264.832 287.745 282.854
(5) Imputation 5 287.819 282.314 264.241 287.196 282.360
(6) Average (l)-(5) 288.085 282.718 265.126 287.695 282.997
(7) Variance (l)-(5) .025 .092 .406 .208 .152
(8) Average jackknife
variance 1.248 1.225 1.742 4.333 9.218
(9) Total variance
1.2 x (7) + (8) 1.278 1.335 2.229 4.583 9.400
(10) Proportional increase
[(9)-(8)]/(8) .024 .090 .280 .058 .020
I.
Randomization-Based Inference
62
Table 8
Multiple Regression Estimates based on Imputations
Constructed with Partial and Full Conditioning
Partial Full Conditioning %-attenuation
Effect 0 f SE(p) t all significant
White; language
minority 6.08 4.23 3.96 1.07 -43.74
White; language
non-minority 12.22 13.72 2.94 4.67 10.93 10.93
Hispanic; lang.
non-minority - .76 1.22 3.25 .38 162.30
Asian; language
minority -2.90 -6.25 4.39 -1.42 53.60
Asian; language
non-minority 9.54 17.34 4.66 3.72 44.98 44.98
Black; language
non-minority -8.64 -10.82 2.95 -3.67 20.15 20.15
Sex = male -8.55 -9.35 .80 -11.69 8.56 8.56
Parent education 6.03 5.80 .38 15.26 -3.97 -3.97
Home language
* minority -9.41 -13.78 2.78 -4.96 31.71 31.71
Study aids 2.63 3.89 .43 9.05 32.39 32.39
Homework 2.78 3.82 .30 12.73 27.23 27.23
* Hours of TV -1.22 -2.04 .24 -8.50 40.20 40.20
Pages read 6.36 10.59 1.01 10.49 39.94 39.94
Years academic
courses .91 1.25 .14 8.93 27.20 27.20
E
Effect included in partial conditioning set
1988/07/06
Educational Testing Service/Mislevy
Dr. Terry Ackerman Dr. R. Darrell Bock
American College Testing Programs University of Chicago
P.O. Box 168 NORC
Iowa City, IA 52243 6030 South Ellis
I Dr. Robert Ahiers Chicago, IL 60637
Code N711 Cdt. Arnold Bohrer
Human Factors Laboratory Sectie Psychologisch Onderzoek
Naval Training Systems Center Rekruterings-En Selectiecentrum
Orlando, FL 32813 Kwartier Koningen Astrid
Bruijnstraat
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1403 Norman Hall
University of Florida Dr. Robert Breaux
Gainesville, FL 32605 Code 7B
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Dr. Erl ing B. Andersen Orlando, FL 32813-7100
Department of Statistics
Studiestraede 6 Dr Robert Brennan
1455 Copenhagen American College Testing
DENMARK Programs
P. 0. Box 168
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Mail Stop: 1O-R Dr. John B. Carroll
Educational Testing Service 409 Elliott Rd., North
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Dr. Arthur S. Blaiwes AFHRL/MOEL
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University of Maryland Dr. Susan Embretson
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P.O. Box 16268 Dr. George Englehard, Jr.
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4t
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Columbia, SC 29208 University of Wisconsin
Department of Statistics
Dr. Douglas H. Jones 1210 West Dayton Street
Thatcher Jones Associates Madison, WI 53705
* P.O. Box 6640
10 Trafalgar Court Dr. Michael Levine
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Educational Psychology
210 Education Bldg.
Dr. Milton S. Katz University of Illinois
European Science Coordination Champaign, IL 61801
* Office
U.S. Army Research Institute Dr. Charles Lewis
Box 65 Educational Testing Service
FPO New York 09510-1500 Princeton, NJ 08541-0001
Prof. John A. Keats Dr. Robert L. Linn
Department of Psychology Campus Box 249
University of Newcastle University of Colorado
N.S.W. 2308 Boulder, CO 80309-0249
AUSTRALIA
-t 1988/07/06
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Dr. Robert Lockman Dr. William Montague
Center for Naval Analysis NPRDC Code 13
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P.O. Box 16268
Alexandria, VA 22302-0268 Ms. Kathleen Moreno
Navy Personnel R&D Center
Dr. Frederic M. Lord Code 62
Educational Testing Service San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Princeton, NJ 08541
Headquarters Marine Corps
Dr. George B. Macready Code MPI-20
Department of Measurement Washington, DC 20380
Statistics & Evaluation
Col lege of Education Dr. W. Alan Nicewander
University of Maryland University of Oklahoma
Col lege Park, MD 20742 Department of Psychology
0Dr. Gary Marco Norman, OK 73071
Stop 31-E Deputy Technical Director
Educational Testing Service NPRDC Code 01A
Princeton, NJ 08451 San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Dr. James R. McBride Director, Training Laboratory,
The Psychological Corporation NPRDC (Code 05)
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San Diego, CA 92101
Director, Manpower and Personnel
Dr. Clarence C. McCormick Laboratory,
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Dr. Robert McKinley & Organizational Systems Lab,
Educational Testing Service NPRDC (Code 07)
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Library, NPRDC
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* San Diego, CA 92152-6800 Commanding Officer,
Naval Research Laboratory
Dr. Barbara Means Code 2627
SRI International Washington, DC 20390
333 Ravenswood Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025 Dr. Harold F. O'Neil, Jr.
0 School of Education - WPH 801
Dr. Robert Mislevy Department of Educational
Educational Testing Service Psychology & Technology
Princeton, NJ 08541 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0031
1988/07/06
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Dr. James B. Olsen Department of Operations Research,
WICAT Systems Naval Postgraduate School
1875 South State Street Monterey, CA 93940
Orem, UT 84058
Dr. Mark D. Reckase
Office of Naval Research, ACT
Code 1142CS P. 0. Box 168
800 N. Quincy Street Iowa City, IA 52243
Arlington, VA 22217-5000
(6 Copies) Dr. Malcolm Ree
AFHRL/MOA
Off~ce of Naval Research, Brooks AFB, TX 78235
Code 125
800 N. Quincy Street Dr. Barry Riegelhaupt
Arlington, VA 22217-5000 HumRRO
1100 South Washington Street
Assistant for MPT Research, Alexandria, VA 22314
Development and Studies
OP 01B7 Dr. Carl Ross
Washington, DC 20370 CNET-PDCD
Building 90
Dr. Judith Orasanu Great Lakes NTC, IL 60088
Basic Research Office
Army Research Institute Dr. J. Ryan
5001 Eisenhower Avenue Department of Education
Alexandria, VA 22333 University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Dr. Jesse Orlansky
Institute for Defense Analyses Dr. Fumiko Samejima
1801 N. Beauregard St. Department of Psychology
Alexandria, VA 22311 University of Tennessee
310B Austin Peay Bldg.
Dr. Randolph Park Knoxville, TN 37916-0900
Army Research Institute
5001 Eisenhower Blvd. Mr. Drew Sands
Alexandria, VA 22333 NPRDC Code 62
San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Wayne M. Patience
American Council on Education Lowell Schoer
GED Testing Service, Suite 20 Psychological & Quantitative
4 One Dupont Circle, NW Foundations
Washington, DC 20036 College of Education
University of Iowa
Dr. James Paulson Iowa City, IA 52242
Department of Psychology
Portland State University Dr. Mary Schratz
P.O. Box 751 Navy Personnel R&D Center
Portland, OR 97207 San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Dept. of Administrative Sciences Dr. Dan Segall
Code 54 Navy Personnel R&D Center
Naval Postgraduate School San Diego, CA 92152
Monterey, CA 93943-5026
o1988/07/06
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Dr. W. Steve Sellman Or. Hariharan Swaminathan
IDASD MRA&L) Laboratory of Psychometric and
2B269 The Pentagon Evaluation Research
Washington, DC 20301 School of Education
University of Massachusetts
Dr. Kazuo Shigemasu Amherst, MA 01003
7-9-24 Kugenuma-Kaigan
Fujisawa 251 Mr. Brad Sympson
JAPAN Navy Personnel R&D Center
Code-62
Dr. William Sims San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Center for Naval Analysis
4401 Ford Avenue Dr. John Tangney
P.O. Box 16268 AFOSR/NL, Bldg. 410
Alexandria, VA 22302-0268 Boiling AFB, DC 20332-6448
Dr. H. Wallace Sinaiko Dr. Kikumi Tatsuoka
Manpower Research CERL
and Advisory Services 252 Engineering Research
Smithsonian Institution Laboratory
801 North Pitt Street, Suite 120 103 S. Mathews Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314-1713 Urbana, IL 61801
Dr. Richard E. Snow Dr. Maurice Tatsuoka
School of Education 220 Education Bldg
Stanford University 1310 S. Sixth St.
Stanford, CA 94305 Champaign, IL 61820
Dr. Richard C. Sorensen Dr. David Thissen
Navy Personnel R&D Center Department of Psychology
San Diego, CA 92152-6800 University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66044
Dr. Paul Speckman
University of Missouri Mr. Gary Thomasson
* Department of Statistics University of Illinois
Columbia, MO 65201 Educational Psychology
Champaign, IL 61820
Dr. Judy Spray
ACT Dr. Robert Tsutakawa
P.O. Box 168 University of Missouri
Iowa City, IA 52243 Department of Statistics
222 Math. Sciences Bldg.
Dr. Martha Stocking Columbia, MO 65211
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08541 Dr. Ledyard Tucker
University of Illinois
* Dr. William Stout Department of Psychology
University of Illinois 603 E. Daniel Street
Department of Statistics Champaign, IL 61820
101 Illini Hall
725 South Wright St.
Champaign, IL 61820
1988/07/06
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Dr. Vern W. Urry Dr. Douglas Wetzel
Personnel R&D Center Code 51
Office of Personnel Management Navy Personnel R&D Center
1900 E. Street, NW San Diego, CA 92152-6800
Washington, DC 20415
Dr. Rand R. Wilcox
Dr. David Vale University of Southern
Assessment Systems Corp. California
2233 University Avenue Department of Psychology
Suite 440 Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061
St. Paul, MN 55114
German Military Representative
Dr. Frank L. Vicino ATTN: Wolfgang Wildgrube
Navv Personnel R&D Cente- Streitkraefteamt
San Diego, CA 92152-6800 D-5300 Bonn 2
4000 Brandywine Street, NW
Dr. Howard Wainer Washington, DC 20016
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08541 Dr. Bruce Williams
Department of Educational
Dr. Ming-Me! Wang Psychology
Lindquist Center University of Illinois
for Measurement Urbana, IL 61801
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242 Dr. Hilda Wing
NRC MH-176
Dr. Thomas A. Warm 2101 Constitution Ave.
Coast Guard Institute Washington, DC 20418
P. 0. Subs ation 18
Oklahoma City, OK 73169 Dr. Martin F. Wiskoff
Defense Manpower Data Center
Dr. Brian Naters 550 Camino El Estero
HumRRO Suite 200
12908 Argy.e Circle Monterey, CA 93943-3231
* Alexandria, VA 22314
Mr. John H. Wolfe
Dr. David . Weiss Navy Personnel R&D Center
N660 Elliott Hall San Diego, CA 92152-6800
University of Minnesota
75 E. Rive Road Dr. George Wong
Minneapoli., MN 55455-0344 Biostatistics Laboratory
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Dr. Ronald A. Weitzman Cancer Center
Box 146 1275 York Avenue
Carmel, CA 93921 New York, NY 10021
Major John Welsh Dr. Wallace Wulfeck, III
AFHRL/MOAN Navy Personnel R&D Center
Brooks AFB, TX 78223 Code 51
San Diego, CA 92152-6800
91988/07/06
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Dr. Kentaro Yamamoto
03-T
Educational Testing Service
Rosedale Road
Princeton, NJ 08541
Dr. Wendy Yen
CTB/McGraw Hill
Del Monte Research Park
Monterey, CA 93940
Dr. Joseph L. Young
National Science Foundation
Room 320
1800 G Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20550
Mr. Anthony R. Zara
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Boards of Nursing, Inc.
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Suite 1544
Chicago, IL 60611
Dr. Peter Stoloff
Center for Naval Analysis
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P.O. Box 16268
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