Comparing student science performance between hands-on and traditional item types: A many-facet Rasch analysis

This study aimed to compare student science performance between hands-on and traditional item types by investigating the item type effect and the interaction effect between item type and science content domain. In Shanghai, China, 2404 ninth-graders from six urban junior high schools took part in the study. The partial credit many-facet Rasch measurement analysis was used to examine the instrument's quality and investigate the item type effect and the interaction effect. The results showed that the traditional item type was significantly more difficult for participants than the hands-on item type, exhibiting a moderate-to-large effect size. Moderate or large interaction effects of an item type with a specific content domain on student science performance were also detected. Students performed better on some science content domains with a particular item type (either hands-on or traditional). Implications for assessment developers and science instructors were also discussed.