School & test engagement
Educators need accurate assessment data to help students learn. But when students rapid-guess or otherwise disengage on tests the validity of scores can be affected. Our research examines the causes of test disengagement, how it relates to students’ overall academic engagement, and its impacts on individual test scores. We look at its effects on aggregated metrics used for school and teacher evaluations, achievement gap studies, and more. This research also explores better ways to measure and improve engagement and to help ensure that test scores more accurately reflect what students know and can do.
In this article, we examined the prevalence of rapid guessing to determine if this behavior varied by grade, subject, and teacher, and evaluated if rapid guessing influenced teacher value-added estimates. We observed differences in rapid guessing across grades, subjects, and teachers; however, this behavior did not appear to have a substantive effect on teacher value-added estimates.
Topics: School & test engagement, Student growth & accountability policies
“No fun games”: Engagement effects of two gameful assessment prototypes
This study examines the impact of two “gameful assessment” prototypes on student engagement and teacher perceptions among 391 Grades 3–7 students and 14 teachers in one Midwestern and one Northwestern school.
Topics: School & test engagement, Innovations in reporting & assessment
In this study we conducted a literature review to investigate whether assessment metadata (typically data relevant to how students behave on a test or survey) can provide information on SEL constructs. Implications of this new source of SEL data for practice, policy, and research are discussed.
Topics: School & test engagement, Innovations in reporting & assessment, Social-emotional learning
Are achievement gap estimates biased by differential student test effort?
New research shows that test effort differs substantially across student gender and racial subgroups. What does this mean for achievement gap estimates?
Topics: Equity, School & test engagement, Social-emotional learning
The impact of technology-enhanced items on test-taker disengagement
Can technology-enhanced items increase student engagement on assessments? A new study provides insight.
Topics: School & test engagement, Innovations in reporting & assessment
In partnership with Santa Ana Unified School District, we explore the impact of chronic absenteeism on student achievement over two years and whether missing 10% of days is too late to take action.
Topics: School & test engagement
In this study, we introduce those disengagement metrics for a policy and evaluation audience, including how disengagement might bias estimates of educational effectiveness. Analytically, we use data from a state administering a computer-based test to examine the effect of test disengagement on estimates of school contributions to student growth, achievement gaps, and summer learning loss.
Topics: Measurement & scaling, School & test engagement, Student growth & accountability policies
