Spectral Clustering Algorithm for Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment

Abstract

In cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA), clustering analysis is an efficient approach to classify examinees into attribute-homogeneous groups. Many researchers have proposed different methods, such as the nonparametric method with Hamming distance, K-means method, and hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis, to achieve the classification goal. In this paper, according to their responses, we introduce a spectral clustering algorithm (SCA) to cluster examinees. Simulation studies are used to compare the classification accuracy of the SCA, K-means algorithm, G-DINA model and its related reduced cognitive diagnostic models. A real data analysis is also conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the SCA. Some research directions are discussed in the final section.