Using differential item functioning to evaluate potential bias in a high stakes postgraduate knowledge based assessment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fairness is a critical component of defensible assessment. Candidates should perform according to ability without influence from background characteristics such as ethnicity or sex. However, performance differs by candidate background in many assessment environments. Many potential causes of such differences exist, and examinations must be routinely analysed to ensure they do not present inappropriate progression barriers for any candidate group. By analysing the individual questions of an examination through techniques such as Differential Item Functioning (DIF), we can test whether a subset of unfair questions explains group-level differences. Such items can then be revised or removed.

Methods

We used DIF to investigate fairness for 13,694 candidates sitting a m

SUBMITTER: Hope D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5883583 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature