Examination of Differential Item Functioning in PISA 2018 Mathematics Literacy Test with Different Methods

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether the PISA 2018 Mathematical Literacy test items show differential item functioning (DIF) according to gender and parental education level. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 521 students who participated in the practice in Turkey and answered the booklets numbered 1 and 7. The research was conducted on a total of 45 items in these booklets. In this study, the Mantel-Haenszel (MH), Logistic Regression (LR), and Rasch Tree (RT) methods were applied to determine the items showing DIF regarding the gender variable. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that two items in the 1st booklet showed DIF in favour of girls, and an item in the 7th booklet that was common with the 1st booklet showed DIF. This item showed DIF in common for all three methods according to the DIF analyses performed separately by the Mantel Haenszel, Logistic Regression, and Rasch Tree methods. As a result, an item showing DIF in favour of girls was determined with both the MH and LR methods in the 1st and 7th booklets. In addition, when the items in booklets 1 and 7 were examined to see whether they show DIF according to parental education level, it was concluded that an item in booklet 1 was easy for students whose mother's education level was high school, university, and above, but difficult for students whose mother's education level was high school or below.