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​​NAEP Technical DocumentationBlock and Scale Composition, Grade 8 Science National Assessment: 2019

Block composition before scaling, grade 8 science DBA national assessment, by item type and block: 2019
Block Total number of items Number of multiple-choice items Number of constructed-response items
2-category 3-category 4-category 5-category
DBA = Digitally based assessment. For a small number of constructed-response items, adjacent categories were combined.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Total 212 134 9 40 18 11
S2 17 10 3 2 2 0
S3 17 12 0 1 2 2
S4 18 13 0 2 1 2
S5 18 13 0 2 2 1
S6 17 11 0 4 1 1
S7 18 11 3 3 0 1
S8 18 13 1 1 2 1
S9 18 13 0 4 1 0
S10 18 14 0 2 1 1
S11 17 12 0 4 1 0
S12 15 9 0 4 1 1
H1 4 0 0 1 2 1
I1 11 2 2 6 1 0
I4 6 1 0 4 1 0


Block composition before scaling, grade 8 science PBA national assessment, by item type and block: 2019
Block Total number of items Number of multiple-choice items Number of constructed-response items
2-category 3-category 4-category 5-category
PBA = Paper-based assessment. For a small number of constructed-response items, adjacent categories were combined.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Total 166 115 1 21 18 11
S3 17 12 0 1 2 2
S4 18 13 0 2 1 2
S5 18 13 0 2 2 1
S6 17 11 0 4 1 1
S7 16 10 0 1 2 3
S8 18 13 1 1 2 1
S9 14 8 0 1 5 0
S10 17 14 0 2 1 0
S11 16 12 0 3 1 0
S12 15 9 0 4 1 1


Scale composition for new blocks as defined after univariate scaling, grade 8 science DBA national assessment, by item type and scale: 2019
Scale Multiple-choice items Dichotomously scored constructed-response items Polytomously scored constructed-response items
Scaled Dropped Scaled Dropped Polytomous (uncollapsed) Dichotomous collapsed Polytomous collapsed Dropped
DBA = Digitally based assessment. "Dropped" denotes items that were deleted from the final scaling. "Collapsed" denotes items that had categories that were combined and recoded for scaling. Polytomous items may be collapsed if they show IRT misfit and adjacent categories need to be combined to achieve better IRT model fit. Some items were administered previously under different contexts. All DBA items are included in the counts because 2019 was the first year of DBA administration for NAEP science.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Univariate 127 4 9 0 46 13 11 0


Scale composition for new blocks as defined after multivariate scaling, grade 8 science DBA national assessment, by item type and subscale: 2019
Subscale Multiple-choice items Dichotomously scored constructed-response items Polytomously scored constructed-response items
Scaled Dropped Scaled Dropped Polytomous (uncollapsed) Dichotomous collapsed Polytomous collapsed Dropped
DBA = Digitally based assessment. "Dropped" denotes items that were deleted from the final scaling. "Collapsed" denotes items that had categories that were combined and recoded for scaling. Polytomous items may be collapsed if they show IRT misfit and adjacent categories need to be combined to achieve better IRT model fit. Some items were administered previously under different contexts. All DBA items are included in the counts because 2019 was the first year of DBA administration for NAEP science.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Total 129 2 9 0 59 6 5 0
Physical science 40 1 5 0 15 1 3 0
Earth and space sciences 52 0 4 0 22 5 2 0
Life science 37 1 0 0 22 0 0 0


Scale composition for trend blocks as defined after univariate scaling, grade 8 science PBA national assessment, by item type and scale: 2019
Scale Multiple-choice items Dichotomously scored constructed-response items Polytomously scored constructed-response items
Concurrent Split Dropped Concurrent Split Dropped Polytomous (uncollapsed) Dichotomous collapsed Polytomous collapsed Split Dropped
PBA = Paper-based assessment. "Concurrent" and “uncollapsed” denote items that were scaled as the same items across assessment years. "Split" denotes items that were scaled as different items in each assessment year. Items may be split if they display cross-year drift and need to be treated as separate items. "Dropped" denotes items that were deleted from the final scaling. "Collapsed" denotes items that had categories that were combined and recoded for scaling. Polytomous items may be collapsed if they show IRT misfit and adjacent categories need to be combined to achieve better IRT model fit. For multiple-choice and dichotomously scored constructed-response items, the total number of items is the sum of the three categories: concurrent, split, and dropped. The number of concurrent polytomously scored constructed-response items is equal to the total number in the first three categories under "Polytomously scored constructed-response items."
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Univariate 104 8 3 0 1 0 38 6 6 6 0


Scale composition for trend blocks as defined after multivariate scaling, grade 8 science PBA national assessment, by item type and subscale: 2019
SubscaleMultiple-choice itemsDichotomously scored constructed-response itemsPolytomously scored constructed-response items
ConcurrentSplitDroppedConcurrentSplitDroppedPolytomous (uncollapsed)Dichotomous collapsedPolytomous collapsedSplitDropped
PBA = Paper-based assessment. "Concurrent" and “uncollapsed” denote items that were scaled as the same items across assessment years. "Split" denotes items that were scaled as different items in each assessment year. Items may be split if they display cross-year drift and need to be treated as separate items. "Dropped" denotes items that were deleted from the final scaling. "Collapsed" denotes items that had categories that were combined and recoded for scaling. Polytomous items may be collapsed if they show IRT misfit and adjacent categories need to be combined to achieve better IRT model fit. For multiple-choice and dichotomously scored constructed-response items, the total number of items is the sum of the three categories: concurrent, split, and dropped. The number of concurrent polytomously scored constructed-response items is equal to the total number in the first three categories under "Polytomously scored constructed-response items."
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment.
Total10663010443370
Physical science3533010130020
Earth and space sciences4220000162220
Life science2910000151130


Last updated 05 October 2023 (SK)