Uncovering Inequities in Global Competence Assessment: A PISA 2018 Study on Canadian Youth

Abstract This study addresses some criticisms about the validity of the PISA 2018 global competency measurements from a data-based perspective. By using Explanatory Item Response Models, this study aims to examine the item and student covariates (gender, self-efficacy regarding global issues, students’ awareness of global problems, perspective-taking, student’s interest in learning about other cultures, cognitive flexibility/adaptability, student's attitudes towards immigrants, and respect for people from different cultures) that affect the easiness of the global-competence items in PISA 2018 in the Canadian sample. The analyses revealed that the easiness of test items measuring global competence differs in the forms of some data sets. This would affect the average Global competency of students across schools, regions, and countries, resulting in a biased result.