The present study aims to examine gender differential item functioning (DIF) in the reading comprehension section of a high stakes test using cognitive diagnosis models. Based on the multiple-group generalized deterministic, noisy "and" gate (MG G-DINA) model, the Wald test and likelihood ratio test are used to detect DIF. The flagged…

Rasch testlet and bifactor models are two measurement models that could deal with local item dependency (LID) in assessing the dimensionality of reading comprehension testlets. This study aimed to apply the measurement models to real item response data of the Iranian EFL reading comprehension tests and compare the validity of the bifactor models…

The Hierarchical Diagnostic Classification Model (HDCM) reflects on the sequences of the presentation of the essential materials and attributes to answer the items of a test correctly. In this study, a foreign language reading comprehension test was analyzed employing HDCM and the generalized deterministic-input, noisy and gate (G-DINA) model to…

General cognitive diagnostic models (CDM) such as the generalized deterministic input, noisy, "and" gate (G-DINA) model are flexible in that they allow for both compensatory and noncompensatory relationships among the subskills within the same test. Most of the previous CDM applications in the literature have been add-ons to simulation…

Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA) is a type of educational assessment that is designed to measure specific knowledge structures and processing skills in students so as to provide information about their cognitive strengths and weaknesses (Leighton & Gierl, 2007). CDA has been instrumental in turning the attention of practitioners to more…

Background: Large-scale cross-national studies designed to measure student achievement use different social, cultural, economic and other background variables to explain observed differences in that achievement. Prior to their inclusion into a prediction model, these variables are commonly scaled into latent background indices. To allow…

Standard unidimensional Rasch models assume that persons with the same ability parameters are comparable. That is, the same interpretation applies to persons with identical ability estimates as regards the underlying mental processes triggered by the test. However, research in cognitive psychology shows that persons at the same trait level may…