Self-Claimed and Tested Knowledge

Abstract

EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT 1971, 31, 629-636. THE traditional method for observing whether or not a person knows something is to develop a test or examination which provides an opportunity for him to demonstrate his knowledge. The person is asked to indicate, through recall or recognition, the answer to a question and the person asking the question then decides regarding the correctness or appropriateness of the answer. The decision regarding the person's knowledge is a function of what he actually knows, the way the question is asked, and the way the judgment is made concerning the correctness of the answer. The assumption is made that if a question is asked of a person and he answers the question in the proper way, he has the information, and if he does not answer the question properly, he does not have the information.An alternative method to determine whether or not a person knows something is to ask him if he knows it. Thus one can present an individual with a list of laws, principles, persons, or facts and ask the person to check or otherwise indicate the ones with which he is familiar and the degree of his familiarity.Many people do not like to take tests and become frightened or anxious when faced by a test. Tests also can demand much time to develop, administer, and score. On the other hand, few people are reluctant to tell another that they do or do not know something and the collection of such information can be done fairly quickly and economically.The motivation of the respondent and his perception of the rea-1 The author acknowledges the assistance of Mr. Gary R. Hanson in developing the test, collecting the data, and analyzing the results.

Relationships among Structural Diversity, Informal Peer Interactions and Perceptions of the Campus Environment

“…Self-reported data are widely used in research on college effects, and their reliability and validity have been extensively studied. (See Baird, 1976;Berdie, 1971;Pace, 1985 Pike, 1995;Pohlmann & Beggs, 1974.) These studies show that self-report measures are likely to be valid under five conditions: 1.…”

Development of the Australasian survey of student engagement (AUSSE)

“…As listed in Table 1, these outcomes include the development of cognitive and socio-emotional capability, academic achievement, departure intention, and overall satisfaction. Studies have shown that at the aggregate level self reports provide reasonably stable estimates of such outcomes (Baird 1976;Berdie 1971;Laing et al 1989;Lowman and Williams 1987;Pike 1995;Pohlmann and Beggs 1974). While the capacity to engage in higher-order forms of thinking is a somewhat distinguishing characteristic of university education, it has not been directly measured in Australian higher education.…”

Student Experiences with Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges: Another Claim for Distinctiveness

“…A fair amount of research (Baird, 1976;Berdie, 1971;Pace, 1985;Pike, 1995;Pohlmann, 1974) has shown that self-reports are likely to be valid if (1) the information requested is known to the respondents, (2) the questions are phrased clearly and unambiguously, (3) the questions refer to recent activities, (4) the respondents think the questions merit a serious and thoughtful response, and (5) answering the questions does not threaten, embarrass, or violate the privacy of the respondent or encourage the respondent to respond in socially desirable ways ). The NSSE survey was designed to satisfy all of these conditions.…”