Measurement Invariance and Differential Item Functioning Across Gender Within a Latent Class Analysis Framework: Evidence From a High-Stakes Test for University Admission in Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: The main aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) using a latent class (LC) analysis approach. Particularly, we examined potential sources of DIF in relation to gender. Data came from 6,265 Saudi Arabia students, who completed a high-stakes standardized admission test for university entrance. The results from a Latent Class Analysis (LCA) revealed a three-class solution (i.e., high, average, and low scorers). Then, to better understand the nature of the emerging classes and the characteristics of the people who comprise them, we applied a new stepwise approach, using the Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model. The model identified both uniform and non-uniform DIF effects for several items across all scales of the test, althou

SUBMITTER: Tsaousis I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7147614 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature