Enhancing Gifted Student Identification: Applying Differential Item Functioning in Validating the HOPE Teacher Rating Scale

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Roundtable: Instrumentation and Identification

Abstract

Identifying gifted students remains a challenge, largely due to the absence of reliable, valid, and universally applicable assessment tools. The HOPE Teacher Rating Scale, though widely used and translated, requires further validation across diverse student populations. This study applied Item Response Theory methods to evaluate the scale’s reliability and validity at the item level. Findings supported the scale’s proposed two-factor structure, which captures the distinct academic and social dimensions of giftedness. However, differential item functioning analysis revealed that five items functioned differently by gender, indicating possible differences in how giftedness is expressed or perceived. While the results affirm the structure of the HOPE Scale, they also highlight the need for continued validation efforts to promote equitable identification in gifted education.

Authors

• Shahnaz Safitri, Purdue University

• Brendha Christie Tanujaya, Purdue University

• Nielsen Pereira, Purdue University/Gifted Education Research & Resource Institute