Considerations for Designing Measures of Confidence
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| Title: | Considerations for Designing Measures of Confidence |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Casandra Koevoets-Beach (ORCID |
| Source: | Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. 2025 30(1). |
| Availability: | University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries. 154 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003. e-mail: pare@umass.edu; Web site: https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/pare/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 25 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Confidence Testing, Interviews, Metacognition, Undergraduate Students, Test Items, Self Evaluation (Individuals) |
| ISSN: | 1531-7714 |
| Abstract: | Confidence tiers have been paired with multiple choice items across different fields since the early twentieth century and have seen widespread adoption in discipline-based education research fields seeking to evaluate aspects of self-regulated learning. The design of two-tiered confidence judgments impacts interpretability and perception of their utility, so meaningful engagement hinges on intentional design for specific constructs. This study uses cognitive interviews exploring students' interpretations of confidence tier components to identify design features which elicit meaningful variation in self-reflection. The evidence supports two prevailing motivations for using confidence tiers--prompting metacognition and measuring the strength of learners' alternate conceptions. The challenges and strategies students encounter while engaging with confidence tiers serve as the foundation to improve the validity of collected confidence data. Recommendations are presented to improve the clarity and utility of confidence tiers to provide meaningful evaluation of target constructs. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1491693 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Confidence tiers have been paired with multiple choice items across different fields since the early twentieth century and have seen widespread adoption in discipline-based education research fields seeking to evaluate aspects of self-regulated learning. The design of two-tiered confidence judgments impacts interpretability and perception of their utility, so meaningful engagement hinges on intentional design for specific constructs. This study uses cognitive interviews exploring students' interpretations of confidence tier components to identify design features which elicit meaningful variation in self-reflection. The evidence supports two prevailing motivations for using confidence tiers--prompting metacognition and measuring the strength of learners' alternate conceptions. The challenges and strategies students encounter while engaging with confidence tiers serve as the foundation to improve the validity of collected confidence data. Recommendations are presented to improve the clarity and utility of confidence tiers to provide meaningful evaluation of target constructs. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1531-7714 |
