Examining the Differential Item Functioning in Students' Assessment Instruments for Quality of Higher Education in Jordan According to Academic Collage Using Generalized Mantel-Haenszel Method

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the differential item functioning in students' assessment tools for quality of higher education in Jordan according to academic college using Mantel-Haenszel method. The sample consisted of (5824) students from (Arts, Education and Science) faculty at Yarmouk University during the summer semester of (2015/2016) academic year. To achieve the study goals, student assessment scale for teacher's instructional performance (20 items) at Yarmouk University was used, developed by the Quality and Academic Development Center at Yarmouk University, and the Mantel-Haenszel Method was used to reveal the differential item functioning. The results indicated that (4) items showed differential functioning in the scale according to the academic college, and showed a bias in favor of Science faculty students at the expense of Education and Arts faculties. The results also showed a significant effect for the differential item functioning on the internal construction validity indicators of the study tool. According to these finding, it was recommended that universities be more interested in quality assessment tools, taking into account the bias when preparing them.