One of the primary goals of international large-scale assessments in education is the comparison of country means in student achievement. This article introduces a framework for discussing differential item functioning (DIF) for such mean comparisons. We compare three different linking methods: concurrent scaling based on full invariance,…

When analyzing large-scale assessments (LSAs) that use complex sampling designs, it is important to account for probability sampling using weights. However, the use of these weights in multilevel models has been widely debated, particularly regarding their application at different levels of the model. Yet, no consensus has been reached on the best…

When scaling psychological tests with methods of item response theory it is necessary to investigate to what extent the responses correspond to the model predictions. In addition to the statistical evaluation of item misfit, the question arises as to its practical significance. Although item removal is undesirable for several reasons, its…

Background: Standard methods for analysing data from large-scale assessments (LSA) cannot merely be adopted if hierarchical (or multilevel) regression modelling should be applied. Currently various approaches exist; they all follow generally a design-based model of estimation using the pseudo maximum likelihood method and adjusted weights for the…

Much of what we know about how children develop is based on survey data. In order to estimate growth across time and, thereby, better understand that development, short survey scales are typically administered at repeated timepoints. Before estimating growth, those repeated measures must be put onto the same scale. Yet, little research examines…

One major aim of international large-scale assessments (ILSA) like PISA is to monitor changes in student performance over time. To accomplish this task, a set of common items (i.e., link items) is repeatedly administered in each assessment. Linking methods based on item response theory (IRT) models are used to align the results from the different…

The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become one of the key studies for evidence-based education policymaking across the globe. PISA has however received a lot of methodological criticism, including how the test scores are created. The aim of this paper is to investigate the so-called 'conditioning model', where…

Linking score scales across different tests is considered speculative and fraught, even at the aggregate level (Feuer et al., 1999; Thissen, 2007). We introduce and illustrate validation methods for aggregate linkages, using the challenge of linking U.S. school district average test scores across states as a motivating example. We show that…

The authors evaluated measurement-level, factor-level, item-level, and scale-level revisions to the "Gifted Rating Scales-School Form" (GRS-S). Measurement-level considerations tested the extent to which treating the Likert-type scale rating as categorical or continuous produced different fit across unidimensional, correlated trait, and…

The development of international surveys on children's learning like PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS--delivering comparable achievement measures across educational systems--has revealed large cross-country variability in average performance and in the degree of inequality across social groups. A key question is whether and how institutional differences…

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international comparative study designed to measure trends in mathematics and science achievement at grades 4 and 8, as well as to collect information about educational contexts (such as students' schools, teachers, and homes) that may be related to student achievement. TIMSS has…

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an important international study of 15-olds' knowledge and skills. New results are released every 3 years, and have a substantial impact upon education policy. Yet, despite its influence, the methodology underpinning PISA has received significant criticism. Much of this criticism has…

In "Progress in International Reading Literacy Study" (PIRLS) educational inequalities are measured, amongst others, through the relationship between students' reading achievements and the home resource for learning (HRL) scale. By applying the partial credit model and using the WLE estimates for the person parameters it is accepted that…

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international comparative study of student performance in reading literacy at the fourth grade. PIRLS 2016 marks the fourth iteration of the study, which has been conducted every 5 years since 2001. New to the PIRLS assessment in 2016, ePIRLS provides a computer-based extension to…

Noncognitive assessments in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study share certain similarities and provide complementary information, yet their comparability is seldom checked and convergence not sought. We made use of student self-report data of Instrumental Motivation,…