Working paper


Modeling student test-taking motivation in the context of an adaptive achievement test
This study examined the utility of response time-based analyses in understanding the behavior of unmotivated test takers. For an adaptive achievement test, patterns of observed rapid-guessing behavior and item response accuracy were compared to the behavior expected under several types of models that have been proposed to represent unmotivated test taking behavior.
By: Steven Wise, G. Gage Kingsbury
Topics: School & test engagement, Growth modeling, Measurement & scaling


English Language Learners, self-efficacy, and the achievement gap: understanding the relationship between academic and social-emotional growth
In this study, multivariate models that jointly estimate growth in achievement and self-efficacy during middle school are used to see how underlying developmental processes relate for ELLs.
By: James Soland
Topics: Social-emotional learning, English Language Learners, Equity


Using assessment metadata to quantify the impact of test disengagement on estimates of educational effectiveness
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.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland
Topics: School & test engagement, Measurement & scaling, Student growth & accountability policies


When does inequality grow? A seasonal analysis of racial/ethnic disparities in learning in kindergarten through eighth grade
In this study, we examine seasonal patterns of racial/ethnic achievement gaps in kindergarten through eighth grade using a national sample of over two million students.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Dennis Condron, Douglas Downey


Trends in children’s academic skills at school entry: 2010 – 2017
This study examines academic skills at kindergarten entry from 2010 and 2017 using data from over 2 million kindergarten students. Results indicated kindergarteners in 2017 have slightly lower math and reading skills than in 2010, but that inequalities at school entry by race/ethnicity and school poverty level have decreased during this period.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Christine Pitts, Margaret Burchinal
Topics: Early learning, Equity


The relationship between test-taking disengagement and performance on MAP Growth retests
Educators sometimes ask: do students rapidly guess because they don’t know the answer to a question, or do rapid guesses reflect a lack of engagement with the test? Would a student’s scores improve if that student engaged more with the assessment and rapidly guessed on fewer items? Examining MAP® Growth™ test scores and levels of student test engagement for over 100,000 tests for which students retested within one day, the results showed that students’ test taking engagement often differed between the initial test and the retest.
By: Steven Wise
Topics: School & test engagement


School effectiveness, summer loss, and federal accountability: Applying the compound polynomialmodel in a program evaluation context
In this study, we apply the Compound Polynomial or “CP” model in a school evaluation context. The CP model addresses the seasonality of student test scores by simultaneously estimating between- and within-year growth.
By: James Soland, Yeow Meng Thum
Topics: Student growth & accountability policies, Growth modeling, Seasonal learning patterns & summer loss