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BackgroundLow-stakes tests are becoming increasingly important in international assessments of educational progress, and the validity of these results is essential especially as these results are often used for benchmarking. Test scores in these tests not only mirror students’ ability but also depend on their test-taking effort. One way to obtain more valid scores from participating samples is to identify test-takers with low test-taking effort and to exclude them from further analyses. Self-assessment is a convenient and quick way of measuring test-taking effort. We present the newly developed Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS), which comprises three items measuring attainment value/intrinsic value, utility value, and perceived benefits, respectively.MethodsIn a multicenter validation study with N = 1837 medical students sitting a low-stakes progress test we analyzed item and test statistics including construct and external validity.ResultsTESS showed very good psychometric properties. We propose an approach using stanine norms to determine a cutoff value for identifying participants with low test-taking effort.ConclusionWith just three items, TESS is shorter than most established self-assessment scales; it is thus suited for administration after low-stakes progress testing. However, further studies are necessary to establish its suitability for routine usage in assessment outside progress testing.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1196-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Digitisation in the education of future doctors was still in its infancy before the Covid pandemic. For the successful implementation of digital teaching, students need the technical equipment and the necessary skills to use it in a meaningful way. Furthermore, it requires a willingness to adapt the learning environment and to take responsibility for self-directed learning. At the beginning of 2020, faculties were forced to convert all teaching to digital formats. Initial research shows that students prefer face-to-face teaching. To determine whether medical students were prepared for digital studies and what should be considered for the future, we analysed surveys at the beginning of online studies and after two Corona semesters at a medical faculty. We were able to show that although our students had good technology equipment, they had a rather negative attitude towards online teaching for various reasons and developed negative emotions. Deficits in design of educational material, and personal learning habits raised concern. A lack of guidance and a lack of interaction with fellow students contributed to this. Adjustments in these areas will be necessary in the future to provide students with positive access to digital studies and thus increase learning success.

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