Instructor:	Dr. Brian Habing, Assistant Professor office: 203 LeConte e-mail: habing@stat.sc.edu office phone: 777-3578 home phone: 739-2686 (9am to 10pm only) Office Hours: whenever the door is open, by appointment, and Monday/Wednesday 2:30-3:30 Wednesday/Friday 9:00-11:00 Website: http://www.stat.sc.edu/~habing/courses/778S02.html
Bulletin Description:	STAT 778—Item Response Theory. [=EDRM 828](3) (Prereq: EDRM 711 or PSYC 710 or STAT 701 or STAT 704) Statistical models for item response theory, Rasch and other models for binary and polytomous data, and applications. Use of statistical software.
Note:	The deadline for dropping the course without failing is Monday, February 25th
Purpose of Course:	Upon completion of the course the students will be familiar with the major concepts and theoretical issues in item response theory. They will possess the needed technical knowledge to directly consult the more applied research journals in the field at the level expected of a practitioner. They will have the background to continue their studies in a reading course preparing them to utilize the more theoretical journals in the field and to conduct research.
Expectations:	All students are expected to: Attend class regularly, asking questions when clarification is needed and participating in any discussions Read the assigned materials (in a timely manner) Attempt all of the assigned homework problems and turn them in at the start of the class in which they are due Use the resource of their fellow students and their instructor to seek answers to questions that arise in class, in the readings, and on the homework
Required Text:	Hambleton, R.K., Swaminathan, H., & Rogers, H.J. (1991). Fundamentals of item response theory. Newbury Park: Sage. Additional readings will also be assigned.
Computers:	We will use the computer packages BILOG and PARSCALE as well as some standard statistical packages. You will recieve accounts for the computer systems where the software is available.
Exams:	There will be two take home exams. The first will be due on Friday, March 8th by 4:30pm. It will be posted on the web by Friday, March 2nd. The second will be due at 5:00pm on Monday, May 6th (the end of the regularly scheduled exam period). It will be posted on the web by Monday, April 29th. Each take home exam will be worth 50 points. You may not consult or receive help from any other students or faculty on the take home exams. You may ask me for clarification on the questions or for some help with the computers.
Homework:	Homework is due at the beginning of the class period it was assigned for. Late homework is not accepted. There will be ten homework assignments. Each homework assignment will be worth 5 points. Homework will be assigned at least one week in advance and posted on the web. The writing on the homework must be legible, the work used to obtain the answers must be shown and correct, and the final answers must be clearly indicated in order to receive full credit. Extra points may be deducted for violating any of the following: Write on one side of the paper only. Multiple pages must be stapled together. No clips. Copies of the computer code used must be included with any homework requiring use of a computer. Extraneous pages of computer output should not be turned in. You may consult with other students in answering the homework, but must write up the solutions individually and run any computer code individually. (i.e., No photocopies of another student's work.)
Quizzes:	Five short (10 minute) quizzes will be given during the semester. One will be given at the beginning of class on each of February 5th, February 19th, March 5th, March 26th, and April 18th. Each quiz is worth 5 points. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
Grades:	The grade is determined by the scores on the homework and examinations as follows: Homework 50 points Quizzes 20 points Exam 1 50 points Exam 2 50 points with the letter grade determined by the percentage of points obtained out of the maximum possible 170. Letter Minimum Grade Percent A 90 B+ 85 B 80 C+ 75 C 70 D+ 65 D 60 F 0 Any questions involving the grading of a homework assignment or exam must be raised by the class period following the one in which it was returned. There is no "extra credit". Any deviations from the above grading scheme will be to the benefit of the students.
Complaints and Comments:	While there are end of semester evaluation forms, they come far too late to resolve any difficulties experienced in the class. All complaints should be raised by either speaking with me directly, or by anonymously leaving a message in my mailbox in 216 LeConte.