This article examines the interdependency of two context effects that are known to occur regularly in large-scale assessments: item position effects and effects of test-taking effort on the probability of correctly answering an item. A microlongitudinal design was used to measure test-taking effort over the course of a large-scale assessment of 60 min. Two components of test-taking effort were investigated: initial effort and change in effort. Both components of test-taking effort significantly affected the probability to solve an item. In addition, it was found that participants' current test-taking effort diminished considerably across the course of the test. Furthermore, a substantial linear position effect was found, which indicated that item difficulty increased during the test. This position effect varied considerably across persons. Concerning the interplay of position effects and test-taking effort, it was found that only the change in effort moderates the position effect and that persons differ with respect to this moderation effect. The consequences of these results concerning the reliability and validity of large-scale assessments are discussed.

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Background: Low-stakes assessments do not have consequences for the test-takers. Currently, motivational research indicates that a lack of test-taking motivation can decrease students' performance in low-stakes assessments. However, little research has explored the domain-specific and situation-specific aspects of motivation simultaneously. Research examining differences in test-taking motivation among students in different types of schools is also limited. Our study therefore addressed the motivational determinants of test performance in low-stakes assessments, in general, as well as school-track-specific differences in particular. Method: Drawing on national data from students who participated in a cross-national study of educational achievement, we conducted multiple regression analyses to predict the students' test performance and the effort they invested in that test. We conducted the analyses for the entire sample as well as for the students in that sample separated according to the school track they were attending.

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