In this study a standardized effect size was created for use with the SIBTEST procedure. Using this standardized effect size, a single set of heuristics was developed that are appropriate for data fitting different item response models (e.g., 2-parameter logistic, 3-parameter logistic). The standardized effect size rescales the raw beta-uni value…

Test equating requires collecting data to link the scores from different forms of a test. Problems arise when equating samples are not equivalent and the test forms to be linked share no common items by which to measure or adjust for the group nonequivalence. Using data from five operational test forms, we created five pairs of research forms for…

Current methods that simultaneously model differential testlet functioning (DTLF) and differential item functioning (DIF) constrain the variances of latent ability and testlet effects to be equal between the focal and the reference groups. Such a constraint can be stringent and unrealistic with real data. In this study, we propose a multigroup…

A method for medical screening is adapted to differential item functioning (DIF). Its essential elements are explicit declarations of the level of DIF that is acceptable and of the loss function that quantifies the consequences of the two kinds of inappropriate classification of an item. Instead of a single level and a single function, sets of…

We investigate the extent to which language versions (English, French and Arabic) of the same science test are comparable in terms of item difficulty and demands. We argue that language is an inextricable part of the scientific literacy construct, be it intended or not by the examiner. This argument has considerable implications on methodologies…

Most implementations of the Mantel-Haenszel differential item functioning procedure delete records with missing responses or replace missing responses with scores of 0. These treatments of missing data make strong assumptions about the causes of the missing data. Such assumptions may be particularly problematic when groups differ in their patterns…

Traditional methods for examining differential item functioning (DIF) in polytomously scored test items yield a single item-level index of DIF and thus provide no information concerning which score levels are implicated in the DIF effect. To address this limitation of DIF methodology, the framework of differential step functioning (DSF) has…

In the attempt to identify or prevent unfair tests, both quantitative analyses and logical evaluation are often used. For the most part, fairness evaluation is a pragmatic attempt at determining whether procedural or substantive due process has been accorded to either a group of test takers or an individual. In both the individual and comparative…

This article describes the results of a simulation study to investigate the impact of missing data on the detection of differential item functioning (DIF). Specifically, it investigates how four methods for dealing with missing data (listwise deletion, zero imputation, two-way imputation, response function imputation) interact with two methods of…

The use of "bias elimination procedures" to reduce the racial bias of test items is discussed. These procedures were forwarded by G. R. Anrig (1988) and R. L. Linn and F. Drasgow (1987). Anrig stated that subjects who "know the same amount about a test item" should have a similar chance of answering it correctly…

As test standards and research literature in general indicate, definitions of test bias and item bias vary considerably, as do the results of existing methods of identifying biased items. The situation is further complicated by issues of content, context, construct, and criterion. In achievement tests, for example, content validity may impose…

The project reported here consisted of a sensitivity review of the items of Forms 11, 12, and 13 of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Because administration of this battery is a required step in the accession process, it should be free from perceived bias or offensiveness that could detract from the measurement process. In…

Differences in test scores can be attributed to various causes, including genuine knowledge differences, test-taking abilities, and irrelevant and biased questions. The Golden Rule reform is a safeguard to ensure that standardized tests measure relevant knowledge differences between test takers and not irrelevant, culturally specific factors. (JAZ)

Computer-based assessments are becoming more commonplace, perhaps as a necessity for faculty to cope with large class sizes. These tests often occur in large computer testing venues in which test security may be compromised. In an attempt to limit the likelihood of cheating in such venues, randomised presentation of items is automatically…

Differential test performance by undergraduate males and females enrolled in a developmental educational psychology course (n=167) was reported on a quantitative examination as a function of item arrangement. Males were expected to perform better than females on tests whose items arranged easy to hard. Plake and Ansorge (1982) speculated this may…