In sociolinguistic contexts where standardized languages coexist with regional dialects, the study of differential item functioning is a valuable tool for examining certain linguistic uses or varieties as threats to score validity. From an ecological perspective, this paper describes three stages in the study of differential item functioning…

This study examines measurement invariance of student perceptions of teaching quality collected in five countries: Indonesia (n students = 6,331), the Netherlands (n students = 6,738), South Africa (n students = 3,422), South Korea (n students = 6,997) and Spain (n students = 4,676). The administered questionnaire was the My Teacher Questionnaire…

Analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) is often used to determine if cross-lingual assessments are equivalent across languages. However, evidence on the causes of cross-lingual DIF is still evasive. Expert appraisal is a qualitative method useful for obtaining detailed information about problematic elements in the different linguistic…

Several sources of bias can plague research data and individual assessment. When cultural groups are considered, across or even within countries, it is essential that the constructs assessed and evaluated are as free as possible from any source of bias and specifically from bias caused due to culturally specific characteristics. Employing the…

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…

Adolescence is a critical period of life during which significant psychosocial adjustment occurs and in which emotional intelligence plays an essential role. This article provides validity evidence for the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) scores based on an item response theory (IRT) approach. A sample of 2,693 Spanish adolescents (M = 16.52…

Background: Education systems rely on both teacher and test-based assessments. Where these assessments are used for summative purposes particularly, it is important to understand why, and for which groups of students, teachers' assessments may produce different results from test-based assessments. Purpose: This paper assesses whether the…

The analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) examines whether item responses differ according to characteristics such as language and ethnicity, when people with matching ability levels respond differently to the items. This analysis can be performed by calculating various statistics, one of the most important being the Mantel-Haenszel,…

Given that basic mathematical ability is a requirement to succeed in "non-mathematical" majors, e.g. degrees for Psychology, Education, and Health Sciences with compulsory introductory stats courses, assessing this ability can be useful to promote achievement. The aim of the present study was to develop a scale to measure the…

Traditionally, women and minorities have not been fully represented in science and engineering. Numerous studies have attributed these differences to gaps in science achievement as measured by various standardized tests. Rather than describe mean group differences in science achievement across multiple cultures, this study focused on an in-depth…

Previous studies indicate that a worldwide measurement tool may be developed based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for chronic conditions. The aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of constructing a cross-cultural measurement of functioning for patients with low back pain…

The goal of this article consists of describing the calibration of an instrument to assess quality of life-related personal outcomes using Rasch analysis. The sample was composed of 3.029 recipients of social services from Catalonia (Spain) and was selected using a probabilistic polietapic sample design. Results related to unidimensionality, item…

Although much has been said about ergonomics in interface and in computer tools and interface design, very few articles in major journals have addressed this topic in relation to language testing. This article describes an experiment carried out at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, in which 27 Media and Communication students provided…

Studies in the field of personality have systematically found gender differences in two of the three dimensions of the Eysenck model: neuroticism and psychoticism. This study aims to analyze these differences in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire--Revised (EPQ-R) scales using differential item functioning (DIF) techniques to determine whether…