Assessment terms beginning with D

This is a measurement glossary, not a general HR glossary. It covers the vocabulary that appears the moment you open a score report or challenge a vendor's claim — reliability, validity, norms, cut scores, item statistics and fairness analysis — because that is the vocabulary buyers are handed without explanation and the one that decides whether a number can carry a decision.

• Differential item functioning

  Also called DIF, Item bias analysis

  Differential item functioning occurs when two groups of equal ability on the attribute being measured have different chances of answering a particular question correctly. It is a property of the item rather than of the groups, and it is the statistical evidence used to identify questions that need review for bias.

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