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Measurement Invariance, Factor Analysis and Factorial Invariance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

William Meredith
William Meredith*
Affiliation:
University of California at Berkeley
*
Requests for reprints should be addressed to William Meredith, Department of Psychology, University of California, 3210 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720.
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Abstract

Several concepts are introduced and defined: measurement invariance, structural bias, weak measurement invariance, strong factorial invariance, and strict factorial invariance. It is shown that factorial invariance has implications for (weak) measurement invariance. Definitions of fairness in employment/admissions testing and salary equity are provided and it is argued that strict factorial invariance is required for fairness/equity to exist. Implications for item and test bias are developed and it is argued that item or test bias probably depends on the existence of latent variables that are irrelevant to the primary goal of test constructers.

Keywords

measurement invariancetest biasitem biasfactor analysisfactorial invarianceselectiongroup differencesfairnessequity

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 58 , Issue 4 , December 1993 , pp. 525 - 543
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

Presidential address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Psychometric Society in Berkeley, California, June 18–20, 1993.

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