Examining Group Differences in Mathematics Achievement: Explanatory Item Response Model Application

Abstract

Students take many different exams throughout their educational lives. In these exams, various individual and item characteristics can affect the responses of individuals to the items. In this study, it was aimed to examine the effects of person and item predictors on the mathematics common exam results of 365 9th grade students with explanatory item response models. Gender and school type as person variables and cognitive domain, content domain and booklet type as item variables were added to the models due to their widespread inclusion in the literature. When the predicted item parameters were examined, it was seen that the smallest parameter values were obtained for all items with the Rasch model. When the model data fit values of four different models were examined, it was concluded that the latent regression and latent regression linear logistic test models showed better fit than the Rasch model. By adding person and item predictors to the model, the parameters obtained for each variable group were compared, and differences were observed between the groups for school type, cognitive domain, and content domain variables. It was concluded that the item parameters did not differ for the variables of gender and booklet type. It is thought that it would be beneficial to use these models more widely in studies to be conducted in the field of education and psychology, since they provide more detailed information about the reasons for the differences in the estimated parameters.