NAEP Analysis and Scaling → Estimation of NAEP Score Scales → Treatment of Items to Avoid Violations of Assumptions → Results of NAEP Differential Item Functioning Analyses → Results of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) for the U.S. History National Assessment in 2010

NAEP Technical DocumentationResults of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) for the U.S. History National Assessment in 2010

For dichotomously scored items, NAEP categorizes each item into one of three categories: "A" (items exhibiting no DIF), "B" (items exhibiting a weak indication of DIF), or "C" (items exhibiting a strong indication of DIF). A plus sign (+) indicates that items are differentially easier for the focal group (female, Black, or Hispanic students) than for the reference group (male or White students) after making an adjustment for the overall level of proficiency in the two groups; a minus sign (-) indicates that items are differentially more difficult for the focal group than for the reference group. For polytomously scored items, NAEP categorizes items into "AA," "BB," or "CC" categories and the plus or minus sign has the same interpretation as dichotomously scored items. After reviewing "C" and "CC" items, subject area specialists decided that no items were biased, so none were deleted from the scales for this reason.

Number of dichotomously scored items, U.S. history national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2010

Grade	DIF category	Male/Female	White/Black	White/Hispanic
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (--the prescaling decisions). SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 U.S. History Assessment.
4	C-	-	-	-
	B-	2	3	1
	A	59	59	62
	B+	3	1	-
	C+	-	1	1
8	C-	2	-	-
	B-	7	2	3
	A	108	110	113
	B+	3	8	3
	C+	1	1	2
12	C-	5	1	-
	B-	4	4	4
	A	100	94	101
	B+	1	10	6
	C+	1	2	-

Number of polytomously scored items, U.S. history national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2010

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (--the prescaling decisions). SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 U.S. History Assessment.
4	CC-	-	1	-
	BB-	1	2	1
	AA	29	24	30
	BB+	1	3	-
	CC+	-	1	-
8	CC-	1	2	1
	BB-	2	4	2
	AA	36	38	41
	BB+	4	-	-
	CC+	1	-	-
12	CC-	1	-	2
	BB-	2	2	-
	AA	34	43	44
	BB+	7	1	-
	CC+	2	-	-

Items identified as 'C' items in at least one comparison, U.S. history national assessment, by block and grade: 2010

Grade	Block	Item	Scale	Comparison	Group favored
NOTE: Cultures = The Gathering of Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas; Technology = Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Society, Ideas, and the Environment; Democracy = Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Practices, and Controversies; and World role = The Changing Role of America in the World. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 U.S. History Assessment.
4	H3	H065601	Culture	Hispanic/White	Hispanic
	H6	H068101	Democracy	Black/White	Black
8	H3	H036101	World role	Male/Female	Male
	H4	H060101	Culture	Black/White	Black
	H6	H070201	World role	Male/Female	Male
	H8	H084401	Culture	Male/Female	Female
	H7	H085201	Culture	Hispanic/White	Hispanic
	H11	H071701	Technology	Hispanic/White	Hispanic
12	H4	H046801	World role	Female/Male	Male
	H5	H062401	Democracy	Black/White	Black
	H5	H063201	Technology	Female/Male	Female
	H6	H049501	Culture	Black/White	Black
	H6	H049801	World role	Female/Male	Male
	H8	H096801	World role	Female/Male	Male
	H8	H092201	World role	Female/Male	Male
	H11	H063901	World role	Black/White	White
	H11	H063901	World role	Female/Male	Male

Items identified as 'CC' items in at least one comparison, U.S. history combined national and state main assessment, by block and grade: 2010

Grade	Block	Item	Scale	Comparison	Group favored
NOTE: Cultures = The Gathering of Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas; Technology = Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Society, Ideas, and the Environment; Democracy = Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Practices, and Controversies; and World role = The Changing Role of America in the World. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2010 U.S. History Assessment.
4	H7	H078903	Technology	Black/White	White
	H8	H078101	Democracy	Black/White	Black
8	H4	H059001	Democracy	Female/Male	Male
	H6	H069601	Technology	Black/White	White
	H7	H084301	Democracy	Female/Male	Female
	H11	H071001	Technology	Black/White	White
	H11	H071001	Technology	Hispanic/White	White
12	H3	H075101	Culture	Female/Male	Female
	H6	H049601	World role	Female/Male	Male
	H8	H097001	Democracy	Hispanic/White	White
	H10	H043101	Technology	Hispanic/White	White
	H11	H065201	Culture	Female/Male	Female

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