The Influence of Student Disengagement on a Non-Cognitive Measure: Practical Solutions for Assessment Practitioners

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Title: The Influence of Student Disengagement on a Non-Cognitive Measure: Practical Solutions for Assessment Practitioners
Language: English
Authors: Katarina E. Schaefer, Sara J. Finney
Source: Research & Practice in Assessment. 2025 20(1):34-48.
Availability: Virginia Assessment Group.; Fax: 504-247-1232; e-mail: editor@rpajournal.com; Web site: http://www.rpajournal.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Students, Student Evaluation, Accountability, Student Behavior, Student Motivation, Testing, Test Items, Test Wiseness, Reaction Time, Factor Analysis, Factor Structure
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: Attitude Scale
ISSN: 2161-4210
Abstract: Some college students may be disengaged when completing assessments for institutional accountability and improvement. If disengagement is not identified and the resulting data are removed, the validity of score interpretations suffers. Using data gathered from students who completed non-consequential assessments for institutional accountability, we investigated disengagement on a non-cognitive assessment. We demonstrate how we identified students who rapidly responded to items, who "streamlined" answers across items, or who self-reported low effort. We hypothesized that some students would display at least one of these disengagement behaviors and that removing their data would result in scores that better aligned with the assessment's theoretical factor structure. Half the students who self-reported low effort and half the students who streamlined also rapidly responded. The theoretical two-factor structure of the noncognitive assessment better represented scores after removing disengaged students. We discuss the practicality of selecting a motivation filtering technique to provide more accurate outcome assessment interpretations.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1488106
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Some college students may be disengaged when completing assessments for institutional accountability and improvement. If disengagement is not identified and the resulting data are removed, the validity of score interpretations suffers. Using data gathered from students who completed non-consequential assessments for institutional accountability, we investigated disengagement on a non-cognitive assessment. We demonstrate how we identified students who rapidly responded to items, who "streamlined" answers across items, or who self-reported low effort. We hypothesized that some students would display at least one of these disengagement behaviors and that removing their data would result in scores that better aligned with the assessment's theoretical factor structure. Half the students who self-reported low effort and half the students who streamlined also rapidly responded. The theoretical two-factor structure of the noncognitive assessment better represented scores after removing disengaged students. We discuss the practicality of selecting a motivation filtering technique to provide more accurate outcome assessment interpretations.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 34
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      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Evaluation
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      – SubjectFull: Accountability
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      – SubjectFull: Student Behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Student Motivation
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      – SubjectFull: Testing
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      – SubjectFull: Test Items
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      – SubjectFull: Test Wiseness
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      – SubjectFull: Reaction Time
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      – SubjectFull: Factor Analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Factor Structure
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      – SubjectFull: Attitude Scale
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