Investigating the Dimensionality of Examinee Motivation Across Instruction Conditions in Low-Stakes Testing Contexts

Sara J. Finney, Catherine E. Mathers, & Aaron J. Myers   |    Volume Eleven  |   

Research investigating methods to influence examinee motivation during low-stakes assessment of student learning outcomes has involved manipulating test session instructions. The impact of instructions is often evaluated using a popular self-report measure of test-taking motivation. However, the impact of these manipulations on the psychometric properties of the test-taking motivation measure has yet to be investigated, resulting in questions regarding the comparability of motivation scores across instruction conditions and the scoring of the measure. To address these questions, the factor structure and reliability of test-taking motivation scores were examined across instruction conditions during a low-stakes assessment session designed to address higher education accountability mandates. Incoming first-year college students were randomly assigned to one of three instruction conditions where personal consequences associated with test results were incrementally increased. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated a two-factor structure of test-taking motivation was supported across conditions. Moreover, reliability of motivation scores was adequate even in the condition with greatest personal consequence, which was reassuring given low reliability has been found in high-stakes contexts. Thus, the findings support the use of this self-report measure for the valuable research that informs motivation instruction interventions for low-stakes testing initiatives common in higher education assessment.

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