Recommendations for Conducting Differential Item Functioning (Dif) Analyses for Students With Disabilities Based on Previous Dif Studies

Buzick, Heather M.; Stone, Elizabeth

doi:10.1002/j.2333-8504.2011.tb02270.x

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(48 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, to maintain acceptable reliability, another three items with DIF (one with gender-related DIF and two with socioeconomic status-related DIF) were retained in the TLC-n 6 . This number of items with DIF represents a low percentage of the test forms (3.1 and 6.9% respectively), and most likely has a low impact on the validity of test forms’ scores, given that their size was not considered notable, according to Wright and Douglas (1975 , 1976) criteria and it is common to have about 15% of items with DIF in achievement tests ( Narayanan and Swaminathan, 1994 ; Buzick and Stone, 2011 ). Post-hoc test results showed that the TRC-n and the TLC-n were able to capture the reading and listening comprehension improvements of students across subsequent grades.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Validating Tests of Reading and Listening Comprehension for Fifth and Sixth Grade Students in Portugal

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An efficient assessment of reading and linguistic abilities in school children requires reliable and valid measures. Moreover, measures which include specific test forms for different academic grade levels, that are vertically equated, allow the direct comparison of results across multiple time points and avoid floor and ceiling effects. Two studies were conducted to achieve these goals. The purpose of the first study was to develop tests of reading and listening comprehension in European Portuguese, with vertically scaled test forms for students in the fifth and sixth grades, using Rasch model analyses. The purpose of the second study was to collect evidence for the validity of these tests based on the relationships of test scores with other variables. The samples included 454 and 179 students for the first and second study, respectively. The data from both studies provided evidence for good psychometric characteristics for the test forms: unidimensionality and local independence, as well as adequate reliability and evidence of validity. The developed test forms are an important contribution in the Portuguese educational context as they allow for the assessment of students’ performance in these skills across multiple time points and can be used both in research and practice.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Validating Tests of Reading and Listening Comprehension for Fifth and Sixth Grade Students in Portugal

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The complications of sample size and the identification of representative stratifying variables, especially for individuals who may have had different accommodations, amplifies the importance of conducting carefully designed DIF studies for individuals with disabilities and ELLs (Buzick & Stone, ; Stone & Cook, ). DIF studies were the predominant methods for empirical fairness studies at item level, but the use of DIF studies alone is inadequate, and multiple methods should be used instead to subjectively evaluate fairness claims (Camilli, ; Kline, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluative Framework for Reviewing Fairness Standards and Practices in Educational Tests

Jonson

Trantham

Usher‐Tate

2019

Educational Measurement

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One of the substantive changes in the 2014 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing was the elevation of fairness in testing as a foundational element of practice in addition to validity and reliability. Previous research indicates that testing practices often do not align with professional standards and guidelines. Therefore, to raise awareness of fairness concepts and principles from the 2014 Standards, this study aligned those standards with fairness practices, as documented in test manuals and on websites of 18 intelligence and achievement tests from different test publishers. A content analysis indicated that just under half of the fairness standards are frequently or occasionally practiced and those occurrences differed somewhat across tests but did not differ between intelligence and achievement tests or across publishers. To inform and encourage improvements in the future practice of the fairness standards, an evaluative framework along with example practices and related methodological scholarship is discussed.

show abstract

“…These items are considered measurement error or bias that impede test fairness (American Educational Research Association [AERA]; American Psychological Association [APA]; National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME], 2014). To make a test valid and fair, items are analyzed with DIF analytic methods to identify statistically significantly responses between groups that vary on some characteristics, and content experts judge the items showing DIF to decide whether they are biased or not (Buzick & Stone, 2011; Zieky, 1993; Zumbo, 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Spatial Thinking Ability Using Item Response Theory: Differential Item Functioning Across Math Learning Disabilities and Geometry Instructions

Choo

Park

Nelson

2020

Learning Disability Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education initiatives have placed pressure on teachers to bring technology tools into classroom, including three-dimensional (3D) printing. Yet, little research has examined what specific math skills are required for 3D printing technology. This article describes a follow-up analysis of findings from a quasi-experimental study that tested feasibility of 3D geometry instruction, Anchored Instruction with Technology Applications (AITA), designed to help students visualize and construct 3D models based on Enhanced Anchored Instruction. Although we found that AITA improved math outcomes of students with math learning disabilities (MLD) in the previous analysis, we only used composite scores encompassing a variety of math and spatial tasks. In this study, we employed item response theory and differential item functioning to examine the impacts of MLD on students’ spatial thinking skills, understand the types of items to assess the intended skills in a valid way, and provide a detailed information of whether student ability and MLD status have caused different results to assess students’ spatial thinking skills. Results showed that students with MLD struggle to learn spatial thinking skills, and AITA was a significant positive indicator to improve spatial thinking skills for both students with and without MLD.

show abstract

Recommendations for Conducting Differential Item Functioning (Dif) Analyses for Students With Disabilities Based on Previous Dif Studies

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Developing and Validating Tests of Reading and Listening Comprehension for Fifth and Sixth Grade Students in Portugal

Developing and Validating Tests of Reading and Listening Comprehension for Fifth and Sixth Grade Students in Portugal

An Evaluative Framework for Reviewing Fairness Standards and Practices in Educational Tests

Evaluating Spatial Thinking Ability Using Item Response Theory: Differential Item Functioning Across Math Learning Disabilities and Geometry Instructions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About