The Role of Students’ Attitudes and Test-Taking Motivation on the Validity of College Institutional Accountability Tests: A Path Analytic Model

Abstract

Given worldwide prevalence of low-stakes testing for monitoring educational quality and students' progress through school (e.g., Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, Program for International Student Assessment), interpretability of resulting test scores is of global concern. The nonconsequential nature of low-stakes tests can undermine students' test-taking motivation, artificially deflating performance and thus jeopardizing validity of test-based inferences, whether they pertain to programs, institutions, or nations (Eklöf, 2007(Eklöf, , 2010Stanat & Lüdtke, 2013;Wise & DeMars, 2005). Moreover, students in countries such as the United States, where academic progress over the course of K-12 (kindergarten through Grade 12) is systematically assessed, are likely to develop antagonistic attitudes toward lowstakes testing by the time they enter college. The relationship between such attitudes, test-taking motivation, and performance on a low-stakes university accountability test was modeled via path analysis. Results indicated the effects of attitudes were indirect (via test-taking motivation) and minimal, suggesting the influence of attitudes on test performance is negligible, further supporting the validity of inferences made from such low-stakes tests. Implications for international assessment are discussed.

Test-taker perception of and test performance on computer-delivered speaking tests: the mediational role of test-taking motivation

“…Although test-taking effort, an important indicator of test-taking motivation, was found to be positively correlated to the TOEIC speaking score, the effect was not statistically significant, which did not support findings from previous studies (e.g., Zilberberg et al, 2014). One of the possible explanations for the discrepancy lies in the different types of test items used.…”

“…According to the theory, test-taking motivation in low-stakes testing is multidimensional, comprising two interrelated components: perceived test importance and test-taking effort (e.g., Wise & DeMars, 2005), and the extent to which test-takers perceive the test as important influences the effort they put into it (e.g., Pintrich, 1999). These proposals have been supported by empirical evidence from many other fields (e.g., Zilberberg, Finneya, Marsha, & Anderson, 2014), and test-taking effort has consistently been found to be a predictor of test performance (e.g., Zilberberg et al, 2014).…”

“…More recently, researchers in other fields have sought to determine how test-taking motivation mediates test-taker perception and test performance by considering the multidimensional nature of test-taking motivation (e.g., Zilberberg et al, 2014). It is proposed that negative test-taker perception may not only directly lead to decreasing test-taking effort but also impact perceived test importance, which in turn negatively affects test-taking effort, resulting in suboptimal performance (e.g., Swing, 2001).…”

Teststrategier og testmotivasjon: Fire niendeklassingers erfaringer med nasjonal prøve i lesing

“…Dette støttes av en studie av Wolf og Smith (1995), som fant at studenter med høy motivasjon og lav testangst presterte best. Hvorvidt testen hadde konsekvenser for karakteren, var også av betydning (se også Zilberberg, Finney, Marsh & Anderson, 2014).…”

“…Når det gjaldt viktigheten, fikk vi inntrykk av at både de høyt-og de lavtpresterende vurderte det som viktig å gjøre det bra på den nasjonale leseprøven. Flere studier har funnet sammenheng mellom testresultat og oppfatning av viktighet (Zilberberg et al, 2014;Wolf & Smith, 1995). Vi fant altså ingen slik tydelig sammenheng.…”