Education shapes episodic memory measurement via test specifications: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

These findings suggest that education strongly influences episodic memory assessment, as test specifications-word-list complexity and test form-interact with participants' education and shape performance gaps between higher- and lower-educated groups. For equating techniques in longitudinal studies, frequency estimation suits waves with similar complexity, whereas equipercentile equating better addresses substantial complexity differences, thereby enhancing measurement validity.