ERIC Number: EJ741759
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 10
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0731-1745
EISSN: N/A
Taking the Time to Improve the Validity of Low-Stakes Tests: The Effort-Monitoring CBT
Wise, Steven L.; Bhola, Dennison S.; Yang, Sheng-Ta
Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, v25 n2 p21-30 Sum 2006
The attractiveness of computer-based tests (CBTs) is due largely to their capability to expand the ways we conduct testing. A relatively unexplored application, however, is actively using the computer to reduce construct-irrelevant variance while a test is being administered. This investigation introduces the effort-monitoring CBT, in which the computer monitors examinee effort (based on item response time) in a low-stakes test and displays warning messages to those exhibiting rapid-guessing behavior. The results of an experimental study are presented, which showed that an effort-monitoring CBT increased examinee effort and yielded more valid test scores than a conventional CBT. Thus, unlike previous research that has focused on identifying rapid-guessing behavior after it has occurred, the effort-monitoring CBT proactively attempts to suppress rapid-guessing behavior. This innovative testing procedure extends the capabilities of measurement practitioners to manage the psychometric challenges posed by unmotivated examinees.
Descriptors: Computer Assisted Testing, Test Validity, Reaction Time, Guessing (Tests), Psychometrics, Construct Validity, Timed Tests, Attention Control, Educational Innovation, Test Wiseness, Computer Uses in Education, Program Improvement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A