Too hard, too easy, or just right? The relationship between effort or boredom and ability-difficulty fit

Regine Asseburg · Andreas Frey

61 citations0/0 files storedPsychological test and assessment modeling

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Psychometric Methodologies and Testing Education, Achievement, and Giftedness Psychological Testing and Assessment

Abstract

Usually, it is assumed that achievement tests measure maximum performance. However, test performance is not only associated with ability but also with motivational and emotional aspects of test-taking. These aspects are influenced by individual success probability, which in turn depends on the ratio of individual ability to item difficulty (ability-difficulty fit). The impact of abilitydifficulty fit on test-taking motivation and emotion is unknown and rarely considered when interpreting test results. N = 9,452 ninth-graders in Germany (PISA 2006) completed a mathematics test and a questionnaire on test-taking effort (motivation) and boredom/daydreaming (emotion). Overall, mean item difficulty exceeded individual ability. Ability-difficulty fit was positively linear related with effort and boredom/daydreaming. The results suggest that low ability students may not show maximum performance in a sequential achievement test. Thus, test score interpretation for this subsample may be invalid. As a solution to this problem the application of computerized adaptive testing is discussed.

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1999Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives 2002Motivational Beliefs, Values, and Goals 2006The Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions: Assumptions, Corollaries, and Implications for Educational Research and Practice 1995Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications 1995Validity of psychological assessment: Validation of inferences from persons' responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning.1960Essentials of Psychological Testing 1984Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance.1989Weighted Likelihood Estimation of Ability in Item Response Theory

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