Using Rasch Measurement Theory to Validate the Student Performance Character and Student Moral Character Scales

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Rasch Measurement SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to validate two scales that measure two dimensions of character within students. Using data collected on 239 middle-school students through a character education evaluation, this study addresses three research questions: 1) How well do items on the Student Performance Character and Student Moral Character scales measure the two constructs?; 2) Do the items on the Student Performance Character and Student Moral Character scales fit the Rasch Measurement model framework? If so, how well is the fit?; and 3) Do any of the items display gender differential item functioning? If so, what are their patterns, directions, and magnitudes? Implications for scale revisions, theoretical advances, and federal funding in the field of character education are discussed.

Author

• Jade Caines, University of Pennsylvania