Differential item functioning of the Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance‐3 for White and African American students

Abstract

AbstractThe present study investigated the psychometric properties of the Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance – Third Edition: Rating Scale (SAED‐3 RS), which is designed for use in identifying students with emotional disturbance for special education services. The purposes of this study were to evaluate (a) the measurement invariance of SAED‐3 RS scores between White and African American students and (b) the impact of differential item functioning (DIF) on test scores from the SAED‐3 RS. The sample consisted of 855 K‐12 students from throughout the United States. The findings suggested that SAED‐3 RS items exhibited small to negligible levels of DIF and that DIF did not significantly impact scores. The results supported the SAED‐3 RS, a teacher‐completed rating scale, as relatively consistent in measuring the emotional and behavioral status of school‐age students from different racial backgrounds. Researchers and practitioners can have confidence that scores from the SAED‐3 RS are not substantially affected by DIF when assessing the emotional and behavioral functioning of African American and White school‐age students. Research limitations, future research, and implications for school professionals are discussed.