Persistent
differences in performance between females and males on measures of
physics conceptual learning have prompted interest in investigating and
reducing the gender gap. Educators and researchers need to have
confidence in their interpretations of results and want to know if
observed group differences are artifacts of test bias or due to factors
like background or instruction. A differential item functioning (DIF)
analysis was conducted on responses to a widely used measure of
conceptual learning to assess whether properties of the test itself,
unrelated to student ability, influence performance by gender. Findings
provide evidence that the test is not systematically biased in favor of
males. However, three items did exhibit substantial DIF, two favoring
males and one favoring females. |
