The Cognitive Diagnostic Model Analysis of the Relationship Between Verbal and Quantitative Skills With Background Characteristics: Evidence From the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test 2023.

This article focuses on applying a general cognitive diagnostic model (CDM) framework to analyze quantitative and verbal skills (QVS) assessed by the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT) using data from 41,451 test-takers in 2023. The study employed a three-step latent-class logistic regression approach to examine the relationship between test-takers' background characteristics (sex, age, educational level) and mastery of eight QVS subskills, finding that CDMs effectively differentiated skill mastery and that the SweSAT items showed measurement invariance with no differential item functioning (DIF) across these groups. Results indicated distinct associations: younger test-takers performed better in quantitative skills, older test-takers excelled in verbal skills, and higher educational levels correlated positively with mastery in both domains. The findings support the validity and fairness of SweSAT and highlight the utility of CDMs for providing detailed diagnostic information to inform equitable educational selection and support.