Cognitive and metacognitive processes during learning depend on accurate monitoring, this investigation examines the influence of immediate item-level knowledge of correct response feedback on cognition monitoring accuracy. In an optional end-of-course computer-based review lesson, participants (n = 68) were randomly assigned to groups to receive…

A dicussion is provided of some statistical measures and graphical information that, when used as feedback to the student, facilitates his ability to assess his own uncertainty. These measures and graphs, which result from the application of least squares analysis and information theory to decision-theoretic testing, provide the student with the…

Admissible probability testing is a way of administering multiple choice tests in which a student states his subjective probability that each alternative answer is correct. His response is then scored by an admissible scoring system designed so that the student will perceive that is is in his interest to report his true subjective probability.…

Confidence weighting (CW) tends to improve the reliability of easy tests; the Coombs-type multiple-response (MR) option tends to improve the reliability of hard tests. It was hypothesized that, on a test of moderate difficulty, offering both the CW and MR response options would improve reliability more than either alone. Twenty-four subjects took…

Details an investigation of student attitudes toward confidence testing in several undergraduate speech communication courses and concludes that students feel that this form of testing provides a better estimate of their knowledge than do conventional objective tests. (MH)

In an experiment using single-word items, subjects are run under three different speed-accuracy trade-off conditions. A competition model would predict that when subjects are forced to respond quickly, there will be an increase in errors, and these will be from recent past items. The prediction was confirmed. (CHK)

Investigates the circumstances under which answer changing is beneficial or detrimental to test performance. Analyzes the success of answer changing in relation to the reasons offered for changing. Concludes that students who reported guessing as their reason for changing answers were not nearly as likely to benefit from changing as were students…

Study was designed to provide some indication as to whether the gain in test reliability from confidence scoring results from relevant or irrelevant sources. If the increase in reliability is the result of a gambling response style, it is conceivable that validity could actually decrease even though reliability is increased. (Authors/CB)

This paper presents the development of scoring functions for use in conjunction with standard multiple-choice items. In addition to the usual indication of the correct alternative, the examinee is to indicate his personal probability of the correctness of his response. Both linear and quadratic polynomial scoring functions are examined for…

One formulation of confidence scoring requires the examinee to indicate as a number his personal probability of the correctness of each alternative in a multiple-choice test. For this formulation a linear transformation of the logarithm of the correct response is maximized if the examinee accurately reports his personal probability. To equate…

An attempt is made to explore the use of subjective probabilities in the analysis of item data, especially criterion-referenced item data. Two assumptions are implicit: (1) one wants to obtain a maximum amount of information with respect to an item using a minimum number of subjects; and (2) once the item is validated, it may well be administered…

Young adults and older adults participated in a weight discrimination study to decide if two weights lifted successively were the same or different and to rate the decision confidence of responses. Younger adults discriminated between weights better than older adults and men discriminated better than women. (Author/CC)

Binary, probability, and ordinal scoring procedures for multiple-choice items were examined. In two situations, it was found that both the probability and ordinal scoring systems were more reliable than the binary scoring method. (Author/CTM)

The relationship between students' scores on a verbal meaning test and their degrees of confidence in item responses was investigated. Subjects were black undergraduate students and they were administered a verbal meaning test by following a confidence testing procedure. (Author/BJG)