Are Large-Scale Test Scores Comparable for At-Home Versus Test Center Testing?

Area of Science:

• Educational Measurement
• Psychometrics
• Remote Assessment Technologies

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote-proctored (at-home) assessments.
• At-home testing environments lack standardization in setting, device, and supervision compared to test centers.
• Understanding score comparability between remote and traditional testing is vital for assessment validity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate score comparability between remote-proctored and test center administrations of a large-scale admissions test.
• To determine if environmental and procedural differences impact test scores in remote assessment settings.

Main Methods:

• Employed both a randomized controlled trial and an observational study design.
• Compared test scores from at-home assessments with those from traditional test centers.
• Utilized statistical adjustments for baseline characteristic differences in sample composition.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were found between at-home and test center scores.
• Adjustments for sample composition confirmed score comparability across testing modalities.
• Findings suggest remote proctoring does not inherently alter admissions test outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Remote-proctored assessments demonstrate score equivalence to traditional test center administrations.
• The study supports the validity and reliability of at-home testing for large-scale admissions.
• These findings have implications for the future of standardized testing and educational accessibility.