Background: Mode effects, the variations in item and scale properties attributed to the mode of test administration (paper vs. computer), have stimulated research around test equivalence and trend estimation in PISA. The PISA assessment framework provides the backbone to the interpretation of the results of the PISA test scores. However, an…

Large-scale standardized tests are regularly used to measure student achievement overall and for student subgroups. These uses assume tests provide comparable measures of outcomes across student subgroups, but prior research suggests score comparisons across gender groups may be complicated by the type of test items used. This paper presents…

Testlets have advantages such as making it possible to measure higher-order thinking skills and saving time, which are accepted in the literature. For this reason, they have often been preferred in many implementations from in-class assessments to large-scale assessments. Because of increased usage of testlets, the following questions are…

Gender differences in reading seem to increase throughout schooling and then decrease or even disappear with age, but the reasons for this are unclear. In this study, we explore whether differences in the way "reading literacy" is operationalised can add to our understanding of varying gender differences in international large-scale…

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an important cross-national study of 15-year-olds' academic knowledge and skills. Educationalists and public policymakers eagerly await the tri-annual results, with particular interest in whether their country has moved up or slid down the international rankings, as compared to earlier…

The paper explores the relationship of the global and the local assessment discourses as expressed by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test items and school-based examinations, respectively. To this end, the paper compares PISA test items related to living systems and the context of life, health, and environment, with Greek…

Many efforts have been made to determine and explain differential gender performance on large-scale mathematics assessments. A well-agreed-on conclusion is that gender differences are contextualized and vary across math domains. This study investigated the pattern of gender differences by item domain (e.g., Space and Shape, Quantity) and item type…

In this article we discuss how apparently indicators that may appear straightforward, such as gender differences, need to be interpreted with extreme care. In particular, we consider how the assessment framework, and the methodology of international surveys, may have a potential impact on the results and on the indicators. Through analysis of…

The purpose of this document is to provide background information that will be useful in interpreting the 2007 results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) by comparing its design, features, framework, and items with those of the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress and another international assessment…