A rasch analysis of the statistical anxiety rating scale

The conceptualization of a distinct construct known as statistics anxiety has led to the development of numerous rating scales, including the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS), designed to assess levels of statistics anxiety. In the current study, the STARS was administered to a sample of 423 undergraduate and graduate students from a midsized, western United States university. The Rasch measurement rating scale model was used to analyze scores from the STARS. Misfitting items were removed from the analysis. In general, items from the six subscales represented a broad range of abilities, with the major exception being a lack of items at the lower extremes of the subscales. Additionally, a differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was performed across sex and student classification. Several items displayed DIF, which indicates subgroups may ascribe different meanings to those items. The paper concludes with several recommendations for researchers considering using the STARS.