Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade
Abstract Objective Response-validated multiple-choice assessments are used in college courses to assess student learning gains. The ability of a test to accurately reflect student learning gains is highly dependent on the students’ effort. Within our institution, lackluster student effort is common...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Research Notes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-018-3545-9 |
| _version_ | 1818847292726181888 |
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| author | Verónica A. Segarra Nicole M. Hughes Kristin M. Ackerman Michael H. Grider Todd Lyda Patrick A. Vigueira |
| author_facet | Verónica A. Segarra Nicole M. Hughes Kristin M. Ackerman Michael H. Grider Todd Lyda Patrick A. Vigueira |
| author_sort | Verónica A. Segarra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective Response-validated multiple-choice assessments are used in college courses to assess student learning gains. The ability of a test to accurately reflect student learning gains is highly dependent on the students’ effort. Within our institution, lackluster student effort is common on response-validated multiple-choice concept assessments that are not included as a portion of the semester grade but are used to inform curricular changes. Thus, we set out to determine whether increasing testing stakes by assigning a grade on student performance had an effect on student score and self-reported effort. The Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) is a response-validated multiple-choice assessment used to measure scientific literacy in undergraduates. We administered the TOSLS to students enrolled in a general education Biology course, both during the first 2 weeks (pretest) and the last 2 weeks (posttest) of the course. Results Self-reported effort and TOSLS performance were significantly correlated in the ungraded cohort. This relationship did not exist in the graded sections. Our data indicate that assigning a low-stakes grade has no significant effect on mean student performance or self-reported effort on the TOSLS within our general education course. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:59:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e2bd3514e034b8eb6ebd1568b6d3b42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1756-0500 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:59:08Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Research Notes |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e2bd3514e034b8eb6ebd1568b6d3b422022-12-21T20:33:22ZengBMCBMC Research Notes1756-05002018-07-011111510.1186/s13104-018-3545-9Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes gradeVerónica A. Segarra0Nicole M. Hughes1Kristin M. Ackerman2Michael H. Grider3Todd Lyda4Patrick A. Vigueira5Department of Biology, High Point UniversityDepartment of Biology, High Point UniversityDepartment of Biology, High Point UniversityDepartment of Biology, High Point UniversityDepartment of Biology, High Point UniversityDepartment of Biology, High Point UniversityAbstract Objective Response-validated multiple-choice assessments are used in college courses to assess student learning gains. The ability of a test to accurately reflect student learning gains is highly dependent on the students’ effort. Within our institution, lackluster student effort is common on response-validated multiple-choice concept assessments that are not included as a portion of the semester grade but are used to inform curricular changes. Thus, we set out to determine whether increasing testing stakes by assigning a grade on student performance had an effect on student score and self-reported effort. The Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) is a response-validated multiple-choice assessment used to measure scientific literacy in undergraduates. We administered the TOSLS to students enrolled in a general education Biology course, both during the first 2 weeks (pretest) and the last 2 weeks (posttest) of the course. Results Self-reported effort and TOSLS performance were significantly correlated in the ungraded cohort. This relationship did not exist in the graded sections. Our data indicate that assigning a low-stakes grade has no significant effect on mean student performance or self-reported effort on the TOSLS within our general education course.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-018-3545-9Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS)Response-validated multiple-choice assessmentsLow-stakes testingNo-stakes testingStudent effort |
| spellingShingle | Verónica A. Segarra Nicole M. Hughes Kristin M. Ackerman Michael H. Grider Todd Lyda Patrick A. Vigueira Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade BMC Research Notes Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) Response-validated multiple-choice assessments Low-stakes testing No-stakes testing Student effort |
| title | Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade |
| title_full | Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade |
| title_fullStr | Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade |
| title_full_unstemmed | Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade |
| title_short | Student performance on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) does not change with assignment of a low-stakes grade |
| title_sort | student performance on the test of scientific literacy skills tosls does not change with assignment of a low stakes grade |
| topic | Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) Response-validated multiple-choice assessments Low-stakes testing No-stakes testing Student effort |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-018-3545-9 |
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