Family Medicine Certification Examination Core Content Questions Flagged for DIF by Racial Group 2013-2020
| Focal Group | Category | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Count Mean (SD) | Percentage Mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Advantage | 11 (2.6%) | 10 (2.4%) | 10 (2.3%) | 11 (2.6%) | 11 (2.6%) | 10 (2.3%) | 10 (2.3%) | 18 (3.7%) | 11.4 (2.9) | 2.6% (0.5) |
| Disadvantage | 19 (4.4%) | 9 (2.1%) | 8 (1.9%) | 7 (1.6%) | 13 (3.0%) | 11 (2.6%) | 10 (2.3%) | 11 (2.3%) | 10.7 (3.9) | 2.5% (0.9) | |
| Total | 30 (7.0%) | 19 (4.5%) | 18 (4.2%) | 18 (4.2%) | 24 (5.6%) | 21 (4.9%) | 20 (4.6%) | 29 (7.6%) | 22.1 (5.1) | 5.3% (1.3) | |
| Net advantage | −8 (−1.9%) | 1 (0.2%) | 2 (0.5%) | 4 (0.9%) | −2 (−0.5%) | −1 (−0.2%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (1.4%) | 0.7 (4.7) | 0.1% (1.0) | |
| Hispanic | Advantage | 6 (3.3%) | 5 (3.6%) | 6 (5.4%) | 3 (4.0%) | 7 (5.8%) | 2 (4.9%) | 5 (3.7%) | 7 (1.4%) | 4.9 (1.8) | 4.0% (1.4) |
| Disadvantage | 4 (0.9%) | 4 (1.0%) | 2 (0.5%) | 7 (1.6%) | 2 (0.5%) | 5 (1.2%) | 3 (0.7%) | 7 (1.4%) | 4.6 (1.9) | 1.0% (0.4) | |
| Total | 10 (4.2%) | 9 (4.6%) | 8 (5.9%) | 10 (5.6%) | 9 (6.3%) | 7 (6.1%) | 8 (4.4%) | 14 (2.8%) | 9.4 (2.3) | 5.0% (1.2) | |
| Net advantage | 2 (0.5%) | 1 (0.2%) | 4 (0.9%) | −4 (−0.9%) | 5 (1.2%) | −3 (−0.7%) | 2 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) | 0.3 (2.9) | 0.2% (0.7) | |
| Asian | Advantage | 14 (3.3%) | 15 (3.6%) | 23 (5.4%) | 17 (4.0%) | 25 (5.8%) | 21 (4.9%) | 16 (3.7%) | 19 (3.9%) | 17.9 (3.3) | 4.3% (0.9) |
| Disadvantage | 19 (4.4%) | 10 (2.4%) | 14 (3.3%) | 7 (1.6%) | 10 (2.3%) | 10 (2.3%) | 8 (1.9%) | 8 (1.7%) | 10.9 (4.3) | 2.5% (0.9) | |
| Total | 33 (7.7%) | 25 (6.0%) | 37 (8.7%) | 24 (5.6%) | 35 (8.1%) | 31 (7.2%) | 24 (4.6%) | 27 (5.6%) | 28.7 (5.1) | 6.7% (1.4) | |
| Net advantage | −5 (−1.2%) | 5 (1.2%) | 9 (2.1%) | 10 (2.3%) | 15 (3.5%) | 11 (2.6%) | 8 (1.9%) | 11 (2.3%) | 7.0 (5.7) | 1.8% (1.4) | |
| Total number of flags | 73 | 53 | 63 | 52 | 68 | 59 | 52 | 70 | 61.3 (8.5) | ||
| Number of core questions | 430 | 430 | 426 | 426 | 429 | 430 | 432 | 484 | 435.9 (19.6) | ||
Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.
Note: The thresholds used to flag questions using the Rasch differential item functioning procedure were an absolute value of the logit contrast ≥ 0.70 and P < .05. The reference group was White. Advantage means that the question was easier for the focal group. Disadvantage means that the question was more difficult for the focal group. Net advantage = Advantage – Disadvantage. Flagging questions was not attempted if there were fewer than 200 responses overall or if the smaller of the 2 groups had fewer than 50 responses. Some questions received multiple flags.