Using idiomatic phrases such as bury the hatchet could lead to ______ bias.

• A. Construct bias
• B. Content bias
• C. Method bias
• D. Item bias

Answer: (D)

Idiomatic language in a test item can create differential item functioning, where the item favors some test-takers over others. If an item includes phrases like bury the hatchet, students unfamiliar with that idiom may misinterpret the question or struggle to grasp what’s being asked, causing their score on that item to reflect language familiarity rather than the intended knowledge or skill. That kind of uneven item performance is what we call item bias.

Think of the others as broader issues: construct bias would mean the test taps a different underlying ability across groups; content bias refers to the overall content domain being culturally biased; method bias involves how the test is administered or scored. The idiom issue specifically targets a single item’s fairness, hence item bias.