This study aims to apply the differential item functioning (DIF) technique with the deterministic inputs, noisy "and" gate (DINA) model to validate the mathematics construct and diagnostic attribute profiles across American and Singaporean students. Even with the same ability level, every single item is expected to show uniform DIF…

The Student Background survey administered along with achievement tests in studies of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement includes scales of student motivation, competence, and attitudes toward mathematics and science. The scales consist of positively- and negatively keyed items. The current research…

The current simulation study examined the effects of Item Parameter Drift (IPD) occurring in a short scale on parameter estimates in multilevel models where scores from a scale were employed as a time-varying predictor to account for outcome scores. Five factors, including three decisions about IPD, were considered for simulation conditions. It…

This article presents a new perspective on measuring gender differences in the large-scale assessment study Trends in International Science Study (TIMSS). The suggested empirical model is directly based on the theoretical competence model of the domain mathematics and thus includes the interaction between content and cognitive sub-competencies.…

It has long been argued that U.S. states' differential performance on nationwide assessments may reflect differences in students' opportunity to learn the tested content that is primarily due to variation in curricular content standards, rather than in instructional quality or educational investment. To quantify the effect of differences in…

Numerous diagnostic studies have been conducted on large-scale assessments to illustrate the students' mastery profile in the areas of math and reading; however, for science a limited number of investigations are reported. This study investigated Iranian eighth graders' competency mastery of science and examined the utility of the General…

Standard errors computed according to the operational practices of international large-scale assessment studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment's (PISA) or the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) may be biased when cross-national differential item functioning (DIF) and item parameter drift are…

The purpose of the study was to measure students' reported test-taking effort and the relationship between reported effort and performance on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Advanced mathematics test. This was done in three countries participating in TIMSS Advanced 2008 (Sweden, Norway, and Slovenia), and the…

In this article, we discuss and illustrate two centering and anchoring options available in differential item functioning (DIF) detection studies based on the hierarchical generalized linear and generalized linear mixed modeling frameworks. We compared and contrasted the assumptions of the two options, and examined the properties of their DIF…

Large-scale assessment programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) use a sophisticated assessment administration design called matrix sampling that minimizes the testing burden on individual…