An Investigation of the Effect of Correlated Abilities on Observed Test Characteristics.
Robert L. McKinley, Mark D. Reckase · Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · 1984
The results of this study indicated that the presence of correlated abilities has important implications for the characteristics of test data, and for the application of multidimensional item response theory models. It was concluded that it is necessary to consider latent item structure as well as latent ability structure in test construction and analysis. It was also concluded that use of multidimensional item response theory models that do not explicitly account for correlated abilities may result in misinterpretation of the underlying dimensions. It was suggested that research should be conducted to determine the nature of the misinterpretation and to perhaps develop an item response theory analogue to factor rotation.