NAEP Technical Documentation Number of Items by Severity of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in the Civics National Assessment

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 for dichotomously scored items. After reviewing "C" and "CC" items, subject area specialists decided that no items were biased, so none were deleted from the scale for this reason.

Number of dichotomously scored items, civics national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2014

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
NOTE: Single overall scale. This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). In 2014, grades 4 and 12 were not assessed. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2014 Civics Assessment.
8	C-	1	0	0
	B-	4	3	3
	A	113	110	114
	B+	4	9	5
	C+	0	0	0

 

Number of polytomously scored items, civics national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2014

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
NOTE: Single overall scale. This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). In 2014, grades 4 and 12 were not assessed. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2014 Civics Assessment.
8	CC-	0	0	0
	BB-	0	1	2
	AA	25	28	26
	BB+	5	1	2
	CC+	0	0	0

 

Items identified as "C" items in at least one comparison, civics national assessment, by block and grade: 2014

Grade	Block	Item	Comparison	Group favored
NOTE: Single overall scale. No CC items were identified. In 2014, grades 4 and 12 were not assessed. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2014 Civics Assessment.
8	C6	P051601	Female/Male	Male

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