The purpose of this study was to apply two types of Differential Item Functioning (DIF), net and global DIF, as well as the framework of Differential Step Functioning (DSF) to real testing data to investigate measurement invariance related to test language. Data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)-2006 polytomously scored…

This article explores the relationship between commensuration and affect in various contexts of education policy. Commensuration is the process through which disparate qualities are transformed into a common metric and is central to the production of performance data. The rise of governance through numbers in education has resulted in a…

Background/Context: Because metacognitive knowledge includes knowledge about adequate learning strategies, and because an effective use of learning strategies is associated with higher levels of performance, substantial relationships can be assumed between metacognitive knowledge, strategic behavior, and performance. However, such a pattern of…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides a framework in which over 80 countries collaborate to build advanced global metrics to assess the knowledge, skills and character attributes of the students. The design of assessments poses major conceptual and technical challenges, as successful learning. Beyond a sound…

The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) enables participating countries to monitor 15-year old students' progress in reading, mathematics, and science literacy. The present study investigates persistent factors that contribute to science performance of Turkish students in PISA 2006 and PISA 2009. Additionally, the study…

The article reviews research and findings on problems and issues faced when translating international academic achievement tests. The purpose is to draw attention to the problems, to help to develop the procedures followed when translating the tests, and to provide suggestions for further research. The problems concentrate on the following: the…

Gauging the effectiveness of specific teaching strategies remains a major topic of interest in science education. Inquiry teaching among others has been supported by extensive research and recommended by the National Science Education Standards. However, most of the empirical evidence in support was collected in research settings rather than in…

This article sets forth the main elements of the conceptual framework for the overall approach to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) taken in this special issue. PISA is here examined as a (knowledge for policy) regulatory instrument made by intertwined cognitive and social practices, and involving multidirectional flows of…

The main purpose of this study is to improve estimation efficiency in obtaining maximum marginal likelihood estimates of contextual effects in the framework of nonlinear multilevel latent variable model by adopting the Metropolis-Hastings Robbins-Monro algorithm (MH-RM). Results indicate that the MH-RM algorithm can produce estimates and standard…

The main purpose of this study is to improve estimation efficiency in obtaining maximum marginal likelihood estimates of contextual effects in the framework of nonlinear multilevel latent variable model by adopting the Metropolis-Hastings Robbins-Monro algorithm (MH-RM; Cai, 2008, 2010a, 2010b). Results indicate that the MH-RM algorithm can…

Expanding numbers of researchers are focusing on the scale and impact of private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education, since much of its curriculum mimics that of regular schooling. Although shadow education has expanded significantly worldwide and is now recognized to have far-reaching significance, research…

Differential item functioning (DIF) can undermine the validity of cross-lingual comparisons. While a lot of efficient statistics for detecting DIF are available, few general findings have been found to explain DIF results. The objective of the article was to study DIF sources by using a mixed method design. The design involves a quantitative phase…

Many scales contain both positively and negatively worded items. Reverse recoding of negatively worded items might not be enough for them to function as positively worded items do. In this study, we commented on the drawbacks of existing approaches to wording effect in mixed-format scales and used bi-factor item response theory (IRT) models to…

The main purpose of this study is to improve estimation efficiency in obtaining full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimates of contextual effects in the framework of a nonlinear multilevel latent variable model by adopting the Metropolis-Hastings Robbins-Monro algorithm (MH-RM; Cai, 2008, 2010a, 2010b). Results indicate that the MH-RM…

It is so easy to criticize the SAT that most observers overlook the weaknesses of its architect, the College Board. This author contents that, until the latter is replaced, however, the former will never be fixed. The College Board has every incentive to create a complex, stressful, expensive college admissions system. Because it is accountable to…