Nonparametric Item Response Function Estimates with the EM Algorithm

The methods of functional data analysis are used to estimate item response functions (IRFs) nonparametrically. The EM algorithm is used to maximize the penalized marginal likelihood of the data. The penalty controls the smoothness of the estimated IRFs, and is chosen so that, as the penalty is increased, the estimates converge to shapes closely represented by the three-parameter logistic family. The one-dimensional latent trait model is recast as a problem of estimating a space curve or manifold, and, expressed in this way, the model no longer involves any latent constructs, and is invariant with respect to choice of latent variable. Some results from differential geometry are used to develop a data-anchored measure of ability and a new technique for assessing item discriminability. Functional data-analytic techniques are used to explore the functional variation in the estimated IRFs. Applications involving simulated and actual data are included.