Differential Performance on National Exams

The purpose of this study is to evaluate two methodologicalperspectives of test fairness using a national Secondary School Certificate (SSC)examinations. SSC is a suit of multi-subject national qualification tests at Grade 10level in South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Because it is ahigh-stakes test, the fairness of SSC tests is a major concern among public andeducational policy planners. This study is a first attempt to investigate test fairnessof the national SSC examination of Pakistan using two independent differential itemfunctioning (DIF) and differential bundle functioning (DBF) procedures. The SSC wasevaluated for possible gender bias using multiple-choice tests in three core subjects,namely, English, Mathematics, and Physics. The study was conducted in two phases usingexplanatory item response model (EIRM) and Simultaneous Item Bias Test (SIBTEST). InPhase 1, test items were studied for DIF, and items with severe DIF were flagged in eachsubject. In Phase 2, the item bundles were analyzed for DBF. Three items were detectedwith large DIF, one for each subject, and one item bundle was detected with a negligibleDBF. Taken together, the results demonstrate that there is no major threat to thevalidity of the interpretation of examinees’ test scores on the SSC examination. Theoutcome from this study provided evidence for test fairness, which will enhance testdevelopment practices at the national examination authorities