Latent Class Analysis and DIF Testing in Mathematics Achievement: A Comparative Study of Korea and Türkiye Using MIMIC Modeling

Year 2025, Volume: 16 Issue: 1, 13 - 29, 31.03.2025

Hee Sun Jung , Hyo Seob Song

Abstract

This study examines the latent classes of mathematics achievement and investigates measurement invariance (differential item functioning) between Korea and Turkey. Moreover, it explores the influence of the country on the latent classes of mathematics achievement. To achieve this, data from eighth-grade students in TIMSS 2019 were analyzed using Latent Class MIMIC Modeling. The findings uncovered diverse latent classes of math achievement and detected both uniform and non-uniform DIF between Korea and Turkey. Furthermore, the country was found to significantly affect the latent class membership of math achievement. This study highlights the necessity of verifying measurement invariance of indicator variables in latent class analysis (LCA). It also sheds light on areas where students performed favorably or unfavorably in mathematics achievement tests across these countries by investigating DIF. These findings have important implications for mathematics education in Korea and Turkey.

Keywords

Mathematics Achievement, Latent Class Analysis (LCA), Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) Modeling, Measurement Invariance, Differential Item Functioning (DIF), TIMSS 2019

Ethical Statement

The authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interest related to this research, and that no unethical behavior occurred during the process of data collection, analysis, and reporting of the results.

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