On The Validity of The GSS Vocabulary Test Across Groups
OpenPsych , June 22, 2023, ISSN: 2597-324X
The psychometric properties of the Wordsum vocabulary test across race and gender groups has not been studied yet. Taking advantage of a large sample of American adults from the General Social Survey (GSS), the Differential item/test functioning (DIF/DTF) were evaluated across gender and ethnicity groups by using Item Response Theory (IRT). Two items displayed DIF with respect to race whereas four items displayed DIF with respect to gender. However, because the DIFs run in both directions, there is no consistent bias against either group at the test level. Despite being culturally loaded, the Wordsum shows no evidence of culture bias.
