Comparing the influence of various measurement error presentations in test score reports on educational decision-making

Dorien Hopster-den Otter* (Corresponding Author), Selia N. Muilenburg, Saskia Wools, Bernard P. Veldkamp, Theo T.J.H.M. Eggen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
159 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study investigated (1) the extent to which presentations of measurement error in score reports influence teachers’ decisions and (2) teachers’ preferences in relation to these presentations. Three presentation formats of measurement error (blur, colour value and error bar) were compared to a presentation format that omitted measurement error. The results from a factorial survey analysis showed that the position of a score in relation to a cut-off score impacted most significantly on decisions. Moreover, the teachers (N = 337) indicated the need for additional information significantly more often when the score reports included an error bar compared to when they omitted measurement error. The error bar was also the most preferred presentation format. The results were supported in think-aloud protocols and focus groups, although several interpretation problems and misconceptions of measurement error were identified.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-142
Number of pages20
JournalAssessment in education
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • UT-Hybrid-D
  • educational decision-making
  • measurement error
  • preferences
  • test score reports
  • Assessment

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