NAEP Technical DocumentationNumber of Items by Severity of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in the Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) 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, technology and engineering literacy (TEL) national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2014
Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	C-	3	0	1
	B-	8	9	3
	A	115	117	124
	B+	5	4	3
	C+	0	1	0
NOTE: Univariate 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 TEL Assessment.

Number of polytomously scored items, technology and engineering literacy (TEL) national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) category and grade: 2014
Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	CC-	0	0	0
	BB-	1	4	2
	AA	91	94	95
	BB+	7	1	3
	CC+	1	1	0
NOTE: Univariate 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 TEL Assessment.

Items identified as "C" items in at least one comparison, technology and engineering literacy (TEL) national assessment, by assembly unit, scale, and grade: 2014
Grade	Assembly unit	Scale	Item	Comparison	Group favored
8	T5	Technology and society	D004601	Female-Male	Male
	T5	Technology and society	D004601	Hispanic-White	White
	T15	Design and systems	D014302	Female-Male	Male
	T18	Technology and society	D017701	Black-White	Black
	T19	Information and communication technology	D0158CL	Female-Male	Male
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 TEL Assessment.

Items identified as "CC" items in at least one comparison, technology and engineering literacy national assessment, by assembly unit, scale, and grade: 2014
Grade	Assembly unit	Scale	Item	Comparison	Group favored
8	T14	Technology and society	D010301	Female-Male	Female
8	T19	Information and communication technology	D0128CL	Black-White	Black
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 TEL Assessment.

Last updated 30 August 2021 (ML)

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