Sensitivity of test items to teaching quality

Naumann, Alexander; Rieser, Svenja; Musow, Stephanie; Hochweber, Jan; Hartig, Johannes

doi:10.18747/PHSG-coll3/id/377

Sensitivity of test items to teaching quality

Resource type

Journal Article

Status

Published

Recommended form of citation (APA)

Naumann, A., Rieser, S., Musow, S., Hochweber, J., & Hartig, J. (2019). Sensitivity of test items to teaching quality. Learning and Instruction, 60, 41-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.11.002

Author(s)

Naumann, Alexander

Rieser, Svenja

Musow, Stephanie

Hochweber, Jan

Hartig, Johannes

DOI

10.18747/PHSG-coll3/id/377

External DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.11.002

PHSG Organisation name

Zentrum Wissenschaftsberatung

Project(s)

Instruktionssensitivität von Testitems in der Pädagogisch-Psychologischen Diagnostik

License Condition

by/4.0/

License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Proforis OA-status

Hybrid OA

OA-Acknowledgement

This OA publication was made possible by the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Education St.Gallen (PHSG).

Permalink

https://proforis.phsg.ch/handle/20.500.14111/3201

File(s)

main article: Volltext.pdf (1.21 MB)

Topic PHSG

Wissenschaftsberatung

Subjects

Fields of Science and Technology (OECD)

Education, general (including training, pedagogy, didactics)

Psychology (including human - machine relations)

Abstract

Instructional sensitivity is the psychometric capacity of tests or single items of capturing effects of classroom instruction. Yet, current item sensitivity measures’ relationship to (a) actual instruction and (b) overall test sensitivity is rather unclear. The present study aims at closing these gaps by investigating test and item sensitivity to teaching quality, reanalyzing data from a quasi-experimental intervention study in primary school science education (1026 students, 53 classes, Mage?=?8.79 years, SDage?=?0.49, 50% female). We examine (a) the correlation of item sensitivity measures and the potential for cognitive activation in class and (b) consequences for test score interpretation when assembling tests from items varying in their degree of sensitivity to cognitive activation. Our study (a) provides validity evidence that item sensitivity measures may be related to actual classroom instruction and (b) points out that inferences on teaching drawn from test scores may vary due to test composition.