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Identifying low test-taking effort during low-stakes tests with the new Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS) -
Katrin Schüttpelz-Brauns1, Martina Kadmon2, Claudia Kiessling3
1Medical Faculty Mannheim at Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167, Mannheim, Germany. katrin.schuettpelz-brauns@medma.uni-heidelberg.de.
A new three-item scale, the Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS), effectively identifies medical students with low test-taking effort in low-stakes assessments. This aids in obtaining more valid educational progress data.
Area of Science:
- Educational Measurement
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Low-stakes tests are crucial for international educational progress assessments and benchmarking.
- Student scores reflect ability and test-taking effort, necessitating identification of low effort.
- Self-assessment offers a practical method for measuring test-taking effort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate the newly developed Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS).
- To assess the psychometric properties and utility of TESS for measuring test-taking effort.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter validation study involved 1837 medical students taking a low-stakes progress test.
- Item and test statistics were analyzed, including construct and external validity.
Main Results:
- The Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS) demonstrated excellent psychometric properties.
- An approach using stanine norms was proposed to establish a cutoff for identifying low effort.
Conclusions:
- TESS, with its three items, is shorter than existing scales, making it suitable post-low-stakes testing.
- Further research is needed to confirm TESS's routine applicability beyond progress testing.
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