NAEP Technical Documentation Number of Items by Severity of Differential Item Functioning in the 2016 Arts 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, music national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) group, grade, and DIF category: 2016

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	C−	0	0	0
	B−	0	1	0
	A	28	26	27
	B+	0	1	1
	C+	0	0	0
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). Both music responding and music creating items were included in the DIF analysis. In 2016, 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), 2016 Music Assessment.

Number of polytomously scored items, music national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) group, grade, and DIF category: 2016

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	CC−	0	0	0
	BB−	0	1	0
	AA	33	30	35
	BB+	3	4	1
	CC+	0	1	0
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). Both music responding and music creating items were included in the DIF analysis. In 2016, 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), 2016 Music Assessment.

Items identified as "CC" items in at least one comparison, music national assessment, by grade and block: 2016

Grade	Block	Item	Comparison	Group favored
8	U5	UE00016	Black/White	Black
NOTE: In 2016, 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), 2016 Music Assessment.

Number of dichotomously scored items, visual arts national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) group, grade, and DIF category: 2016

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	C−	0	0	0
	B−	1	2	1
	A	16	14	16
	B+	0	1	0
	C+	0	0	0
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). Both visual arts responding and visual arts creating items were included in the DIF analysis. In 2016, 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), 2016 Visual Arts Assessment.

Number of polytomously scored items, visual arts national assessment, by differential item functioning (DIF) group, grade, and DIF category: 2016

Grade	DIF category	Female/Male	Black/White	Hispanic/White
8	CC−	0	0	0
	BB−	0	1	0
	AA	21	21	23
	BB+	2	3	2
	CC+	2	0	0
NOTE: This includes all items in the assessment (the prescaling decisions). Both visual arts responding and visual arts creating items were included in the DIF analysis. In 2016, 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), 2016 Visual Arts Assessment.

Items identified as "CC" items in at least one comparison, visual arts national assessment, by grade and block: 2016

Grade	Block	Item	Comparison	Group favored
8	V4	VD00008	Female/Male	Female
	V5	VF000B8	Female/Male	Female
NOTE: In 2016, 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), 2016 Visual Arts Assessment.

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