The Mantel-Haenszel delta difference (MH D-DIF) and the standardized proportion difference (STD P-DIF) are two observed-score methods that have been used to assess differential item functioning (DIF) at Educational Testing Service since the early 1990s. Latentvariable approaches to assessing measurement invariance at the item level have been…

M-fluctuation tests are a recently proposed method for detecting differential item functioning in Rasch models. This article discusses a generalization of this method to two additional item response theory models: the two-parametric logistic model and the three-parametric logistic model with a common guessing parameter. The Type I error rate and…

A latent variable modeling method for studying measurement invariance when evaluating latent constructs with multiple binary or binary scored items with no guessing is outlined. The approach extends the continuous indicator procedure described by Raykov and colleagues, utilizes similarly the false discovery rate approach to multiple testing, and…

The null hypothesis test used in differential item functioning (DIF) detection tests for a subgroup difference in item-level performance--if the null hypothesis of "no DIF" is rejected, the item is flagged for DIF. Conversely, an item is kept in the test form if there is insufficient evidence of DIF. We present frequentist and empirical…

Within polytomous items, differential item functioning (DIF) can take on various forms due to the number of response categories. The lack of invariance at this level is referred to as differential step functioning (DSF). The most common DSF methods in the literature are the adjacent category log odds ratio (AC-LOR) estimator and cumulative…

Over eight thousand test administrations across two universities were examined to determine whether students with disabilities were being given the necessary extended testing time accommodations and whether their use of extended time decreased over the course of their programs. Findings revealed that commonly accepted recommendations about…

Adaptive testing is advantageous in that it provides more efficient ability estimates with fewer items than linear testing does. Item-driven adaptive pretesting may also offer similar advantages, and verification of such a hypothesis about item calibration was the main objective of this study. A suitability index (SI) was introduced to adaptively…

This study defines subpopulation item parameter drift (SIPD) as a change in item parameters over time that is dependent on subpopulations of examinees, and hypothesizes that the presence of SIPD in anchor items is associated with bias and/or lack of invariance in three psychometric outcomes. Results show that SIPD in anchor items is associated…

In this study, we propose that the unique needs and characteristics of linguistic minorities should be considered throughout the test development process. Unlike most measurement invariance investigations in the assessment of linguistic minorities, which typically are conducted after test administration, we propose strategies that focus on the…

Scientific argumentation is one of the core practices for teachers to implement in science classrooms. We developed a computer-based formative assessment to support students' construction and revision of scientific arguments. The assessment is built upon automated scoring of students' arguments and provides feedback to students and teachers.…

Basic motor competencies (in German: Motorische Basiskompetenzen; MOBAK) are motor performance dispositions formulated as minimum standards that empower children to participate in the culture of human movement. In opposition to movement-specific and process-oriented fundamental movement skills assessing the quality of movement execution, basic…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a key component in the evaluation of the fairness and validity of educational tests. Although it is often assumed that refinement of the matching criterion always provides more accurate DIF results, the actual situation proves to be more complex. To explore the effectiveness of refinement, we…

There has been growing use of ideal point models to develop scales measuring important psychological constructs. For meaningful comparisons across groups, it is important to identify items on such scales that exhibit differential item functioning (DIF). In this study, the authors examined several methods for assessing DIF on polytomous items…

The Mantel-Haenszel (MH) procedure is commonly used to detect items that function differentially for groups of examinees from various demographic and linguistic backgrounds--for example, in international assessments. As in some other DIF methods, the total score is used to match examinees on ability. In thin matching, each of the total score…

This note is concerned with a latent variable modeling approach for the study of differential item functioning in a multigroup setting. A multiple-testing procedure that can be used to evaluate group differences in response probabilities on individual items is discussed. The method is readily employed when the aim is also to locate possible…