Compare methods

	Latent Transition Analysis in Education	Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling
Field	Education	Education
Family	Latent structure	Latent structure
Year of origin	2010	2010
Originator	Latent variable methodology (Collins & Wugalter; Collins & Lanza)	Tatsuoka; DiBello, Roussos & Stout; Junker & Sijtsma; de la Torre
Type	Longitudinal latent class model for movement between qualitative learner states	Restricted latent class models for diagnosing mastery of discrete skills
Seminal source	Collins, L. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2010). Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis: With Applications in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. Wiley. ISBN: 9780470228395	Rupp, A. A., Templin, J., & Henson, R. A. (2010). Diagnostic Measurement: Theory, Methods, and Applications. Guilford Press. ISBN: 9781606235270
Aliases	Educational LTA, Latent Markov Modeling of Learning, Stage-Sequential Latent Class Modeling, Latent Transition Modeling	CDM, Diagnostic Classification Models, DCM, DINA / G-DINA Models
Related	4	4
Summary	Latent transition analysis (LTA) is a longitudinal extension of latent class analysis that models how individuals move between qualitatively distinct, unobserved categories over time. In education it represents students as belonging to learner profiles or developmental stages — for example, types of motivation, reading-strategy profiles, or mastery stages — and estimates the probabilities of transitioning from one profile to another between time points. It answers not only how many kinds of learners there are, but how learners change type as instruction and development unfold.	Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs), also called diagnostic classification models, are restricted latent class models that report not a single ability score but a profile of which discrete skills or attributes a student has mastered. Each item is linked to the attributes it requires through a Q-matrix, and the model classifies every examinee into one of the possible binary mastery patterns. CDMs answer 'which specific skills does this student lack' rather than 'how much overall ability does this student have,' making them central to fine-grained diagnostic and formative assessment.