The effort-moderated IRT model of test-taking motivation¶
Research Method · All research methods
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 3 studies (2 theoretical, 1 associational),q1–q2· 0 of 3 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study
Description¶
The effort-moderated IRT model (S. L. Wise & DeMars, 2006) represents unmotivated test taking by specifying two item response functions: one for solution behavior, modeled with a monotonically increasing function such as the Rasch model, and one for rapid-guessing behavior, "modeled as a constant value at (or near) chance level regardless of the test taker's achievement level." Each response is classified by comparing response time to a per-item threshold, and rapid guesses are excluded from scoring. Unlike absorbing state, decreasing effort, or difficulty-based models, it "makes no assumptions about patterns of motivational behavior that are exhibited during a test event."
Accounts¶
- The effort-moderated IRT model of test-taking motivation: The effort-moderated IRT model (S. L. Wise & DeMars, 2006) represents unmotivated test taking by specifying two item response functions: one for solution behavior, modeled with a monotonically increasing function such as the Rasch model, and one for rapid-guessing behavior, "modeled as a constant value at (or near) chance level regardless of the test taker's achievement level." Each response is classified by comparing response time to a per-item threshold, and rapid guesses are excluded from scoring. Unlike absorbing state, decreasing effort, or difficulty-based models, it "makes no assumptions about patterns of motivational behavior that are exhibited during a test event." (Wise et al. (2015))
Claims¶
- Rapid-guessing behavior on an adaptive achievement test is inconsistent with most proposed models of unmotivated test taking except the effort-moderated model [+W]
- Effort-moderated scoring exhibits improved person fit statistics compared with traditional scoring [+W]
- Effort-moderated scoring yields more accurate scores than traditional scoring on an adaptive achievement test [+W]
- Current measurement models underlying achievement testing assume students respond effortfully to test items [+W]
- The effort-moderated IRT model's parameter estimation accuracy was studied under multiple assumption violations in the context of test-taking disengagement [+W]
- Rapid Guess Accuracy Constant Across Achievement [+M]
Related Research Methods¶
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Key Sources¶
- Wise, S. L., & Kingsbury, G. G. (2015). Modeling Student Test-Taking Motivation in the Context of an Adaptive Achievement Test. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, Chicago. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Modeling+Student+Test-Taking+Motivation+in+the+Context+of+an+Adaptive+Achievement+Test
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
research-method |
id |
the-effort-moderated-irt-model-of-test-taking-motivation |
title |
The effort-moderated IRT model of test-taking motivation |
description |
The effort-moderated IRT model (S. |
status |
review |
moved_from |
theory/effort-moderated-irt-model |
generated |
by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — wise-2015 |
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