Use time spent on difficult test items as a source of information about students' social-emotional needs¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article recommends considering response process metadata as a source of information on social-emotional constructs. Because "the amount of time students spend on very difficult items is highly correlated with motivation and self-efficacy," educators and researchers using computer-based tests may examine difficult-item durations, after accounting for item difficulty and achievement, to help understand students' social emotional needs in math.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Computer-based tests that log item response times
• Accounting for item difficulty and estimates of true achievement when interpreting durations

Constraints¶

• Mean item durations across items generally do not show a strong relationship with these constructs, so the signal is specific to very difficult items

Target Learners¶

• Students taking computer-based math assessments

Target Learning Goals¶

• Identifying students' academic motivation and self-efficacy needs

Affordances¶

• Response Time As Response Process Metadata

Related Strategies¶

• Apply existing test metadata to understand students' social-emotional needs

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• James Soland. (2019). Can item response times provide insight into students' motivation and self-efficacy in math? An initial application of test metadata to understand students' social emotional needs. Educational Measurement Issues and Practice 38 (3) 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12258