Components of Item Difficulty of Raven's Matrices

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and test item characteristics that predict the difficulty of items on Raven's Colored Matrices (CPM; 1965) and items on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM; 1965). CPM item characteristics were defined and rated; Rasch item difficulties were used as the dependent variable, with misfitting items omitted. The multiple R was .90 (.88 using stepwise prediction). When the same predictors were used with SPM items, the multiple R was .69. The results of this study are discussed with respect to cognitive processes and with respect to using item characteristics to create new test items.