Establish scale, then cuts, then categorise from theta

The advice. “Establish scale, establish cuts, use theta estimate to categorize student performance.”

Why. An ordering discipline. Categories should be a consequence of a defined scale and defined cut points on that scale, not a construct produced directly by a classification procedure. Getting the order right means the cut points can be inspected, defended, and held stable across years — and it means the reported category has a scale-score interpretation behind it rather than being the raw output of a classifier.

Noted alongside: Smarter Balanced is using scaled score.

Status. Open.