Abstract
In this paper, we consider a two-level multidimensional item response model that examines country differences in extreme response style (ERS) as a possible cause for the achievement-attitude paradox in PISA 2006. The model is an extension of Bolt & Newton (2011) that uses response data from seven attitudinal scales to assess response style and to control for its effects in estimating correlations between attitudes and achievement. Despite detectable variability in ERS across countries and detectable biasing effects of ERS on attitudinal scores, our results suggest that the unexpected between-country correlation between attitudes and achievement is not attributable to country differences in ERS. The remaining between-country correlations between mean attitudes and mean achievement once controlling for ERS can be explained by the observation that (1) despite detectable country differences, most variability in ERS occurs within, as opposed to between, countries, and (2) ERS appears to be only weakly correlated with achievement. The methodological approach used in this paper is argued to provide an informative way of studying the effects (or lack thereof) of cross-country variability in response style.
Highlights
One objective of cross-cultural assessments such as PISA is to better understand achievement differences across countries
Applying the multidimensional IRT (MMIRT) model to examine the attitude-achievement paradox in PISA 2006 As the primary interest of the current paper is to address the between-country correlation between mean attitudes and mean achievement, we expand the model in the previous section to include a student-level achievement variable
While various aspects of the results could be discussed in detail, we focus in particular on the estimated within- and between-country covariance matrices, as well as the estimated country level mean vectors observed from the multilevel item response theory (IRT) model
Summary
One objective of cross-cultural assessments such as PISA is to better understand achievement differences across countries. Recent administrations of PISA and TIMSS have included survey instruments that have the potential to inform about cross-cultural differences in student attitudes toward different subject areas. The focus area in PISA 2006 was science, and attitudinal surveys on the assessment considered several different aspects of attitudes related to science (e.g., enjoyment of science, perceived value of science, etc.). Items on the surveys were answered via self-report using Likert rating scales that had four scale points, ranging from 1 = Strongly Agree to 4 = Strongly Disagree, such that lower overall scores imply a more positive attitude toward science.
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