A Practical Guide for Analyzing Large-Scale Assessment Data Using Mplus

Periodical
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics
Volume
46
Year
2021
Issue number
4
Page range
501-518
Access date
March 22, 2023
Relates to study/studies
PIAAC Cycle 1

A Practical Guide for Analyzing Large-Scale Assessment Data Using Mplus

A Case Demonstration Using the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies Data

Abstract

In order to promote the use of increasingly available large-scale assessment data in education and expand the scope of analytic capabilities among applied researchers, this study provides step-by-step guidance, and practical examples of syntax and data analysis using Maples. Concise overview and key unique aspects of large-scale assessment data from the 2012/2014 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) are described. Using commonly-used statistical software including SAS and R, a simple macro program and syntax are developed to streamline the data preparation process. Then, two examples of structural equation models are demonstrated using Mplus. The suggested data preparation and analytic approaches can be immediately applicable to existing large-scale assessment data.