Is Differential Noneffortful Responding Associated With Type I Error in Measurement Invariance Testing?

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Educational Measurement
• Quantitative Psychology

Background:

• Low test-taking effort is a validity threat, particularly when assessments lack personal value.
• Subgroup differences in effort can complicate subgroup mean comparisons.
• The impact of differential effort on measurement invariance and latent mean comparisons is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of differential noneffortful responding (NER) on measurement invariance and latent mean comparisons.
• To quantify the bias introduced by differential NER in subgroup mean comparisons.

Main Methods:

• A simulation study was employed to model the effects of varying rates of differential NER.
• Evaluated measurement invariance at configural, metric, and scalar levels.
• Assessed bias in latent mean comparisons under conditions of achieved scalar invariance.

Main Results:

• Increased Type I errors for metric invariance were observed with higher rates of differential NER.
• No negative effects on configural or scalar invariance were found.
• Differential NER rates of 7% introduced bias in latent mean comparisons up to 0.18 standard deviations when scalar invariance was attained.

Conclusions:

• Differential noneffortful responding poses a significant threat to the validity of subgroup mean comparisons.
• Test users must assess and document potential differential NER before conducting measurement quality analyses and reporting disaggregated results.