Illustration of Multilevel Explanatory Item Response Theory Model Differential Item Functioning Testing With the Creative Thinking Scale

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Gifted Education, Creativity, and Talent Development Posters

Abstract

Creativity has been well studied in the past several decades, and numerous measures have been developed to assess creativity. However, validity evidence associated with each measure is often mixed. In particular, the social consequence aspect of validity has received little attention. This is partly due to the difficulty of testing for differential item functioning (DIF) within the classical test theory framework, which still remains the most popular approach to assessing creativity. Hence, this study provides an example of examining DIF using multilevel explanatory item response models. The Creative Thinking Scale was tested for DIF in a sample of 1,043 10th-12th graders. Results revealed significant uniform and non-uniform DIF for some items. The detailed implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Authors

• Meihua Qian, Clemson University

• Shenghai Dai, Washington State University - Pullman

• Xianyong Wang, Clemson University