| This study investigates the relationship between gender group membership and performance on test items using four differential item functioning procedures---Area Measure, Likelihood Ratio test, Mantel-Haenszel, and SIBTEST methods.; The basic competence test for junior high schools is a very important breakthrough in education in Taiwan because it adopts item response theory (IRT). The analysis of DIF is important because of concern that the basic competence test for junior high schools be fair and impartial for every student. In this study, the presence of DIF for gender groups is investigated for this new system of testing. The results of this study are the identification of items that show evidence of DIF and that are judged to be due to bias, a determination of which methods are the most accurate for detecting DIF, and an investigation of the possible reasons for causes of DIF and bias.; Both real and simulation data are analyzed to compare the four DIF methods. From the results, synthesis and discussion of effect size, frequency, consistency, and Type I error rate, of the four methods, SIBTEST was deemed the most appropriate to detect DIF items for the basic mathematical competence test for junior high schools in Taiwan. |
