Power Up Plus CTT-IRT (PUP-IRT)

PUP version 5.20 combines Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Intem Response Theory (IRT) to color the unexpectedness of student marks in five PUP printouts.  Also download Ministep.* [On Windows 7, uncheck Hide File Extensions.]

Work Order: (in a folder named PUPIRT, for example)

   Create a PUP answer file (.ANS) or download  NURSE1.ANS.

   Create a Ministep answer file (.txt) or download Nurse1.txt.

   Run Ministep and save Table 6 as IRT.txt or download IRT.txt

   Run PUP-IRT in the folder named PUPIRT.

Ministep is easy to use after you select the few features you will need.

1.    Click Ministep to run the program.

2.    At the Ministep Welcome, click NO.

3.    Press Enter for Dialog Box:

4.    Find and select:                                                              Nurse1.txt.

5.    Press Enter for temporary file:

6.    Press Enter to analyze:

7.    Click Output Tables.

8.    Click 6. PERSON (rows): fit order

9.    Save Table 6 in the folder named PUPIRT as:             IRT.txt

PUP 5.20 and Winsteps are unlimited. Ministep is limited to 25 questions and 75 students. PUP 5.20 requires a file named IRT.txt for automatic loading and for analysis. (You can name the Ministep Table 6 file whatever you want but then you must find and select it.)

1.    Click PUP-IRT to run the program.

2.    Click Enable Content to activate macros (if asked).

3.    Click Add-Ins to expose the program tool bar.

4.    Click Import , find and select:                                        NURSE1.ANS

5.    Click Parse, find and select (if not automatic):              IRT.txt

The following combined CTT and IRT files are then colored:

1.    MUD                3a. Mastery, Unfinished, and Discriminating items.

2.    EGMD**        3b. Expected, Guessing, Misconception, and Discriminating Items.

3.    Guttman         3c. Sorted by Student Score and Item Difficulty.

4.    IDxItem          3d. Sorted by Student ID and Item Number.

5.    TopFive            9. Individual Pairings (presumptive cheating).

*   Linacre, J. M. (2011). WINSTEPS® Rasch measurement computer program. Beaverton, Oregon: Winsteps.com.

**EGMD only prints with Knowledge and Judgment Scoring (KJS) as only when students are permitted to report what they trust (understand and find useful as the basis for further learning) is this information available.