Gendered and cultural bias in elementary school assessment: DIF as evidence of epistemic inequality

This study examines Differential Item Functioning (DIF) as a method for identifying gender and cultural bias in elementary school assessments. It employs an explanatory mixed-methods research design, with a strong emphasis on critical quantitative analysis supported by conceptual interpretation grounded in feminist theory. This approach was chosen to enable the empirical identification of bias in assessment while simultaneously providing a critical interpretation of the findings. Data were collected through documentation of assessment instruments used in schools and students’ responses to test items, with participants drawn from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Through DIF analysis, the study found that assessment items often advantage male students or those from local cultural contexts, thereby creating epistemic inequality in educational outcomes. These gender and cultural biases indicate that the knowledge recognized in education frequently fails to reflect the diversity of students’ experiences. The findings underscore the need for more inclusive assessment practices that accommodate the diversity of students’ experiences and challenge dominant norms in education. The study also highlights the importance of DIF analysis as a tool not only for improving measurement quality, but also for uncovering hidden power relations embedded in educational assessment practices, which often marginalize the knowledge of groups. These findings highlight the need to reconsider assessment practices as context-dependent and socially embedded, rather than purely neutral tools. By framing DIF as both a quantitative and critical approach, this study demonstrates its capacity to reveal concealed inequities in educational assessment and to guide the creation of more fair evaluation practices.