Investigate why subgroup differences in test effort exist to support educators¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article recommends that researchers and educators examine the causes of subgroup differences in test effort rather than only measuring them. It states that "Understanding why there are subgroup differences in test effort would likely be useful to educators and is worthy of additional study," positioning explanatory follow-up work on effort differences as a next step for improving the validity of score-based policy metrics.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Behavioral measures of test effort, such as rapid guessing rates, must be available to identify where subgroup differences occur.

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students whose test effort varies by subgroup

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving the validity of achievement gap estimates and test-based policy decisions

Related Strategies¶

• Consider differential test effort when interpreting achievement gap estimates among student subgroups

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• James Soland. (2018). Are achievement gap estimates biased by differential student test effort? Putting an important policy metric to the test. Teachers College Record, 120(12), 1-26. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/are-achievement-gap-estimates-biased-by-differential-student-test-effort-putting-an-important-policy-metric-to-the-test/