An Examination of Item Context Effects, DIF, and Gender DIF

Abstract

This investigation examined whether the patterns of gender differential item functioning (DIF) present in parcels of items are influenced by changes in item position. Items were studied collectively to detect differential bundle functioning (DBF) on 2 forms of a test of mathematics for college freshmen. To investigate order effects, 2 forms of the test were assembled: Form 1 (random) and Form 2 (easy to difficult within content area; n = 3,932 for Form 1; n = 1,074 for Form 2). Based on an attribute analysis (Harnisch, Tatsuoka, & Wilkins, 1995; Tatsuoka, 1993), item categories were constructed to examine the relation between DBF and specific item characteristics identified in previous work (e.g., word problems, items requiring higher order thinking skills, and items containing figures or graphs). Findings suggest that the amount of gender DIF and DIF present in item parcels tends not to be influenced by changes in item position. The gender DIF findings for the word problem category are an issue; the beta value was .46 for Form 1 and .39 for Form 2.