An Examination of the Relationship Between Answer Changing, Testwiseness, and Examination Performance

Geiger, Marshall A.

doi:10.1080/00220979709601394

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…First, in addition to using behavioural indices of self-monitoring analogous to those used by Eva and Regehr (i.e., response time and response deferring), we also examined whether response changing could capture moment-by-moment self-monitoring. The effects of response changing on test performance have been thoroughly examined in the literature (i.e., Ferguson et al 2002;Fischer et al 2005;Geiger 1997;Higham and Gerrard 2005), and generally, the results are consistent with the notion that this activity may be an indicator of accurate selfmonitoring. For example, as Ferguson et al (2002) describe, when responses are changed on a test, the new answer tends to be more accurate than the original answer, although, the effect is slightly smaller for lower-performing students than higher-performing students.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Self-monitoring and its relationship to medical knowledge

McConnell

Regehr

Wood

et al. 2011

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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In the domain of self-assessment, researchers have begun to draw distinctions between summative self-assessment activities (i.e., making an overall judgment of one's ability in a particular domain) and self-monitoring processes (i.e., an "in the moment" awareness of whether one has the necessary knowledge or skills to address a specific problem with which one is faced). Indeed, previous research has shown that, when responding to both short answer and multiple choice questions, individuals are able to assess the likelihood of answering questions correctly on a moment-by-moment basis, even though they are not able to generate an accurate self-assessment of overall performance on the test. These studies, however, were conducted in the context of low-stakes tests of general "trivia". The purpose of the present study was to further this line of research by investigating the relationship between self-monitoring and performance in the context of a high stakes test assessing medical knowledge. Using a recent administration of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I, we examined three measures intended to capture self-monitoring: (1) the time taken to respond to each question, (2) the number of questions a candidate flagged as needing to be considered further, and (3) the likelihood of changing one's initial answer. Differences in these measures as a function of the accuracy of the candidate's response were treated as indices of each candidate's ability to judge his or her likelihood of responding correctly. The three self-monitoring indices were compared for candidates at three different levels of overall performance on the exam. Relative to correct responses, when examinees initially responded incorrectly, they spent more time answering the question, were more likely to flag the question for future consideration, and were more likely to change their answer before committing to a final answer. These measures of self-monitoring were modulated by candidate performance in that high performing examinees showed greater differences on these indices relative to poor performing examinees. Furthermore, reliability analyses suggest that these difference measures hold promise for reliably differentiating self-monitoring at the level of individuals, at least within a given content area. The results suggest that examinees were self-monitoring their knowledge and skills on a question by question basis and altering their behavior appropriately in the moment. High performing individuals showed stronger evidence of accurate self-monitoring than did low performing individuals and the reliability of these measures suggests that they have the potential to differentiate between individuals. How these findings relate to performance in actual clinical settings remains to be seen.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Self-monitoring and its relationship to medical knowledge

McConnell

Regehr

Wood

et al. 2011

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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“…However, in a recent study, females reported guessing to a higher extent when compared to males , showing the importance of more research in the area. It is also possible that there are differences between different age-groups or groups with different education levels, as research suggest that there might be a maturity effect on test-taking strategies (Geiger 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

2017

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To be successful in a high-stakes testing situation is desirable for any test taker. It has been found that, beside content knowledge, test-taking behavior, such as risktaking strategies, motivation, and test anxiety, is important for test performance. The purposes of the present study were to identify and group test takers with similar patterns of test-taking behavior and to explore how these groups differ in terms of background characteristics and test performance in a high-stakes achievement test context. A sample of the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test test takers (N = 1891) completed a questionnaire measuring their motivation, test anxiety, and risk-taking behavior during the test, as well as background characteristics. A two-step cluster analysis revealed three clusters of test takers with significantly different test-taking behavior profiles: a moderate (n = 741), a calm risk taker (n = 637), and a test anxious risk averse (n = 513) profile. Group difference analyses showed that the calm risk taker profile (i.e., a high degree of risktaking together with relatively low levels of test anxiety and motivation during the test) was the most successful profile from a test performance perspective, while the test anxious risk averse profile (i.e., a low degree of risk-taking together with high levels of test anxiety and motivation) was the least successful. Informing prospective test takers about these insights can potentially lead to more valid interpretations and inferences based on the test scores. Eur J Psychol Educ (2018) shown that for a test taker to be successful when taking a test, it is important to be able to reduce anxiety and sustain motivation (Dodeen et al. 2014;Naylor 1997;Sternberg 1998), as well as using effective test-taking strategies, such as willingness to take risks (Bicak 2013;Bond and Harman 1994;Dodeen 2008). Studies in this area often compare groups of test takers and have for example found that high achievers tend to report using more effective testtaking strategies when compared to low achievers (Stenlund et al. 2017;Ellis and Ryan 2003;Hong et al. 2006;Kim and Goetz 1993), that males are more prone to taking risks when answering test items (see, e.g., Baldiga 2014), and that females and low achievers seem to experience higher levels of test anxiety than males and high achievers (Stenlund et al. 2017;Cassady and Johnson 2002;Naylor 1997). Findings like these can help understand and to some extent possibly explain performance differences that are often observed between manifest groups in achievement tests. Still, considering the consequences of successful test-taking behavior in high-stakes test situations, and assuming that test takers adopt different test-taking behavior, exploring differences across groups, in terms of profiles, and identifying patterns that seem associated with sucessful and less successful test-taking, respectively, might add important knowledge to this area. With this study, we therefore aim at identifying subgroups of test takers with similar patter...

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“…The notion that it may be possible for a student to outwit a standardized test and perform well despite a significant lack of contentspecific knowledge runs counter to principles of effective assessment. 10,11 Students who are testwise are able to look for errors in the construction of test items, particularly in multiplechoice questions. 11 Students who are able to outwit a test receive scores that are not valid, and not predictive of their current knowledge and skills or future abilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10,11 Students who are testwise are able to look for errors in the construction of test items, particularly in multiplechoice questions. 11 Students who are able to outwit a test receive scores that are not valid, and not predictive of their current knowledge and skills or future abilities. 4,10 It is important to differentiate between testwiseness and educated guessing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, making educated guesses, requires the student to have some measure of content knowledge, enough at least to rule out some plausible distractors, reducing the number of possible answers from which a guess may be made. 9,11 Since first being identified as a threat to the validity of multiple-choice tests, numerous guidelines have been published providing teachers with important ''tips'' for designing multiple-choice assessments to circumvent common testwiseness strategies (Table 1). Proponents of this approach support the notion that effective test design can prevent successful application of testwiseness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Testwiseness” Among International Pharmacy Graduates and Canadian Senior Pharmacy Students

Mahamed¹,

Gregory²,

Austin³

2006

Am J Pharm Educ

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Objective. To compare the test-taking skills and abilities (testwiseness) of Canadian senior-level pharmacy students with those of international pharmacy graduates. Methods. A 20-item testwiseness questionnaire was developed and administered to 102 participants: 35 senior-level pharmacy students, 34 international pharmacy graduates, and 34 practicing pharmacists who served as a control group. Results. Mean testwiseness scores indicated significant differences in performance between seniorlevel pharmacy students and international pharmacy graduates. Testwiseness deficiencies of international pharmacy graduates were particularly severe in domains requiring discerning use of English language. Conclusions. Differences in testwiseness appear to exist between Canadian senior-level pharmacy students and international pharmacy graduates. The genesis and implications of these differences must be evaluated further in order to determine whether testwiseness affects learning, professional development, or clinical practice.

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An Examination of the Relationship Between Answer Changing, Testwiseness, and Examination Performance

Cited by 18 publications

References 33 publications

Self-monitoring and its relationship to medical knowledge

Self-monitoring and its relationship to medical knowledge

The successful test taker: exploring test-taking behavior profiles through cluster analysis

“Testwiseness” Among International Pharmacy Graduates and Canadian Senior Pharmacy Students

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