| Computer program | Website obtainable from | Free or paid? | Estimation | Rasch models |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasch Software: Paid (Commercial) | ||||
| ConQuest 5 (Windows, Mac) | www.acer.edu.au/conquest | paid | MMLE, JMLE | dichotomous, polytomous, multidimensional, IRT |
| Facets (Windows) | www.winsteps.com/facets.htm | paid | JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| RUMM2030+ (Windows) | www.rummlab.com.au | paid | PMLE, WMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| WINMIRA (Windows) | www.von-davier.com ? | paid | CMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Winsteps (Windows) | www.winsteps.com/winsteps.htm | paid | CMLE, JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Xcalibre (Windows) | ? | paid | EM | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Logimo | ? | paid | CMLE (Log-linear) | dichotomous |
| LPCM-WIN (Windows) | ? | paid | CMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Quest (Windows, old Macs) | paid | JMLE | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| RSP | ? | paid | CMLE, MMLE | dichotomous |
| T-Rasch | ? for demo: serial number is "demo" | paid | Non-parametric | dichotomous |
| Rasch Software: freeware | ||||
| Bigsteps (MS-DOS Windows) | www.winsteps.com/bigsteps.htm | freeware | JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| ConstructMap (formerly GradeMap) (Windows & Mac) | ? | freeware | MMLE (MLE, EAP, DPVM) | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Facets-DOS (MS-DOS Windows) | www.winsteps.com/facdos.htm | freeware | JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Ganz Rasch (Windows) | ? | freeware | CMLE, JMLE, PMLE, WLE, MinChi, PROX | dichotomous |
| ICL (Windows, Mac, Linux) | ? | freeware | MMLE, MAP, EAP | dichotomous, polytomous |
| jMetrik (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux) | www.itemanalysis.com | freeware | JMLE. PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Minifac (Windows) | www.winsteps.com/minifac.htm | freeware | JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Ministep (Windows) | www.winsteps.com/ministep.htm | freeware | JMLE, XMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| MULTIRA (in German, Windows) | ? | freeware | CMLE, JMLE, WMLE | dichotomous |
| OPLM (MS-DOS & Windows) | ? | free | CMLE, MMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| WinLLTM (Windows) | ? | free? | CMLE | dichotomous |
| Bond&FoxSteps (Windows) | Software for Bond & Fox "Applying the Rasch Model" | freeware | JMLE, PROX | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Digram (Windows) | ? | freeware | CMLE (log-linear, graphical) | dichotomous, polytomous |
| SALTUS (Windows) | ? | free? | MMLE | ? |
| BICAL (MS-DOS Windows) | installed on some mainframes | - | JMLE | dichotomous |
| IRT programs with Rasch-like capability | ||||
| BILOG-MG (Windows) | www.ssicentral.com | paid | MMLE | dichotomous |
| flexMIRT (Windows) | vpgcentral.com/software/flexmirt/ | paid | various | dichotomous, polytomous |
| PARSCALE (Windows) | www.ssicentral.com | paid | MMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| IRTPRO 2.1 (Windows) | www.ssicentral.com | paid | MMLE | dichotomous, polytomous |
| PARDUX | ? | ? | MMLE | dichotomous |
| RASCAL (Windows) | ? | paid | JMLE | dichotomous |
| See also software listing at: www.umass.edu | ||||
| Software with some Rasch functionality | ||||
| Bayesian Regression (Windows) | georgek.people.uic.edu/BayesSoftware.html (George Karabatsos) | freeware | Bayesian posterior estimation via Monte Carlo methods (e.g., MCMC) | Bayesian nonparametric (infinite-) mixture, standard normal mixture, dichotomous, polytomous, unidimensional, multidimensional, multi-level, FACETS-type |
| Damon (Python) | www.pythiasconsulting.com Analysis of multidimensional tabular datasets | open source | ALS | dichotomous, polytomous |
| EQSIRT (Windows, Mac, Linux) | www.mvsoft.com/eqsirt10.htm | paid | MMLE, MCMC | dichotomous, polytomous |
| ETIRM (Windows) | www.smallwaters.com/software/cpp/etirm.html | freeware | C++ functions | dichotomous, polytomous |
| flirt (MATLAB) | faculty.psy.ohio-state.edu/jeon/ | free add-ons | ML+EM | dichotomous + IRT models + multidimensional |
| Frank B. Baker & Seock-Ho Kim (Windows) | Item Response Theory: Parameter Estimation Techniques, Second Edition | CD-ROM in book | various | dichotomous, polytomous |
| Frank B. Baker | Item Response Theory: Parameter Estimation Techniques, First Edition | freeware | various | dichotomous |
| Latent GOLD (Windows) | www.statisticalinnovations.com | paid | MMLE | Rasch Mixture models: dichotomous, polytomous |
| LIBIRT (C++) | libirt.sf.net | freeware | MMLE etc. | dichotomous |
| Mplus | www.statmodel.com/irtanalysis.shtml | included | MLE | dichotomous + IRT models |
| OpenStat | statpages.info/miller/OpenStatMain.htm | freeware | PROX | dichotomous |
| R | CRAN Task View: Psychometric Models and Methods | free add-ons | various | dichotomous, polytomous, continuous |
| autoRasch: Semi-Automated Rasch Analysis | free add-ons | JMLE | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| eRm: Extended Rasch Modeling | free add-ons | CMLE | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| immer: Item Response Models for Multiple Ratings | free add-ons | CMLE, HRM, Facets-wrapper | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| ltm: Latent Trait Models under IRT | free add-ons | MMLE | dichotomous + IRT models | |
| mixRasch: Mixture Rasch Models with JMLE | free add-ons | JMLE | dichotomous, polytomous, mixture | |
| pairwise: Rasch Model Parameters by Pairwise Algorithm | free add-ons | PMLE | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| sirt: Supplementary Item Response Theory Models | free add-ons | PMLE etc. | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| TAM: Test Analysis Modules | free add-ons | JMLE, MMLE | dichotomous, polytomous, multifacets and more | |
| R Snippets for IRT: WrightMap | free add-ons | graphing | dichotomous, polytomous, multidimensional | |
| RaschFit (SAS) | RaschFit.sas download | free SAS macro to compute expected scores, residuals and mean-square fit statistics using response data and parameter estimates | any | dichotomous, polytomous |
| RASCHTEST (STATA) | pro-online.univ-nantes.fr | free add-ons | CMLE, MMLE, GEE | dichotomous, etc. |
| SAS PROCs STATA, S-PLUS, R, etc. | freeirt.free.fr anaqol.free.fr | free add-ons | ? | ? |
| SAS PROCs | publicifsv.sund.ku.dk/~kach/ | free add-ons | CMLE, MMLE | polytomous, longitudinal |
| STATA | www.stata.com/support/faqs/statistics/rasch-model/ | - | CMLE, Bayesian | dichotomous |
| WinBUGS | https://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/software/bugs/ | freeware | ? | ? |
| Rasch demonstration software | ||||
| Mark Moulton (Windows) | Excel Spreadsheet (dichotomous) | freeware | JMLE | dichotomous |
| John M. Linacre (Windows) | Excel Spreadsheet (polytomous) | freeware | JMLE | polytomous |
| Simulation software | ||||
| WinGen (Windows) | www.hantest.net/wingen | freeware | dichotomous, polytomous | |
| WINIRT (Windows) | Hua Fang, George A. Johanson, Ohio University | freeware | dichotomous | |
| IRT-Lab | www.education.miami.edu/facultysites/penfield/ | freeware | various | |
| Rasch unfolding software | ||||
| RUMMFOLD | ? | paid | ? | ? |
| Please notify us of corrections or other Rasch software using the comment form below. | ||||
| CMLE = Conditional Maximum Likelihood Estimation, JMLE = Joint MLE, MMLE = Marginal MLE, PMLE = Pairwise MLE, WMLE = Warm's Mean LE, PROX = Normal Approximation | ||||
| FORUM | Rasch Measurement Forum to discuss any Rasch-related topic |
Furthermore, these films often use the seemingly frivolous world of beauty to critique social hierarchies and gender norms. The salon is traditionally a feminized space, and by centering the narrative there, the genre deliberately elevates “women’s work” and “women’s talk” to a place of profound importance. It challenges the notion that caring about one’s appearance is vain or superficial. Instead, it reveals the artistry, economics, and emotional labor involved. A film like Saving Face uses the backdrop of a New York beauty salon within the Chinese-American community to explore generational conflict, hidden sexuality, and the pressure to conform. The salon becomes a place where old-world values clash with new-world freedoms, all while a perm is setting or a bridal updo is being perfected. The salon’s very existence becomes a quiet act of defiance against a culture that might dismiss its importance.
Beyond community, the beauty salon movie is intrinsically linked to the theme of personal transformation. The act of having one’s hair cut, colored, or styled is a universal metaphor for change, agency, and rebirth. The salon, therefore, becomes a laboratory of identity. In films like Hairspray , Tracy Turnblad’s journey to integrate a local TV dance show is powerfully echoed by her visits to Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway, a plus-size clothing store that operates with the same empowering ethos as a salon. The transformation is not merely cosmetic; it is political. A new hairstyle can represent a woman taking control of her life after a divorce, a teenager asserting her individuality, or a marginalized person demanding to be seen. The movie Beauty Shop (2005), starring Queen Latifah, directly centers this idea: the protagonist, Gina, leaves a snobbish, exclusive salon to open her own shop, where she empowers a diverse clientele to embrace their natural beauty and fight against Eurocentric standards. The salon here is a stage for self-determination. beauty salon movie
At first glance, a film titled simply Beauty Salon might seem to promise little more than light-hearted gossip, romantic subplots, and a parade of makeover montages. However, the most memorable films set within the humming, chemical-scented walls of a salon—from the cult classic Steel Magnolias to the more recent Hairspray —consistently prove that the setting is far more than a backdrop. The beauty salon movie is a distinct and potent subgenre, one that uses the intimate, ritualistic space of the salon as a powerful microcosm to explore themes of community, resilience, transformation, and social politics. Furthermore, these films often use the seemingly frivolous