NAEP Technical DocumentationNumber of Items by Severity of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in the U.S. History 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 scales for this reason.

Number of dichotomously scored items, U.S. history 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 U.S. History Assessment.
8	C-	–	1	–
	B-	13	3	2
	A	104	107	113
	B+	3	9	5
	C+	1	1	1

 

Number of polytomously scored items, U.S. history 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 U.S. History Assessment.
8	CC-	–	1	–
	BB-	2	5	1
	AA	38	37	42
	BB+	3	1	1
	CC+	1	–	–

 

Items identified as "C" items in at least one comparison, U.S. history national assessment, by block, subscale, and grade: 2014

Grade	Block	Subscale	Item	Comparison	Group favored
NOTE: 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 U.S. History Assessment.
8	H4	Culture	H060301	Black/White	White
	H5	Culture	H038901	Black/White	Black
	H8	Culture	H084401	Female/Male	Female
	H10	World role	H042901	Female/Male	Male
	H11	Technology	H071701	Hispanic/White	Hispanic

 

Items identified as "CC" items in at least one comparison, U.S. history national assessment, by block, subscale, and grade: 2014

Grade	Block	Subscale	Item	Comparison	Group favored
NOTE: 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 U.S. History Assessment.
8	H7	Democracy	H084301	Female/Male	Female
	H9	Culture	H084801	Black/White	White

Printer-friendly Version