2017 Volume 56 Pages 137-157
This study reviews research trends in psychometrics and educational evaluation within the context of Japan. We searched the major studies published between July 2015 and June 2016 in the field and classified them into four main categories, as follows: “factor analysis scaling,” “Item Response Theory (IRT) scaling,” “educational evaluation,” and “statistical theory for psychological scaling.” Through the review, we observed a variety of problems within the four categories: (a) In “factor analysis scaling,” the study’s validity is questionable and confirmatory factor analysis was not adopted in some studies; (b) In “IRT scaling,” the fundamental study of model fit, the measurement error of the scaled score, equating, and item or test characteristic statistics were not sufficiently reported; (c) In “educational evaluation,” there is a shortage of experts in psychometrics; and (d) In “statistical theory for psychological scaling,” more discussion is needed regarding how to utilize Bayesian modeling in psychological studies.
