Tests With and Without Motivation

By Scott Jaschik. As colleges have faced increasing pressure in recent years to demonstrate that students learn something while enrolled, many have turned to tests of learning outcomes, such as the Collegiate Learning Assessment. In that test -- and popular alternatives from ACT and the Educational Testing Service -- small groups of entering and graduating students are tested on their critical thinking and other skills. In theory, comparing the scores of new and graduating students yields evidence either that students are or are not learning. Many call the difference between the entering and graduating students' performance the "value added" by a college degree. These test results may be high-stakes for colleges, many of which need to show accreditors and others that they are measuring student learning. But for the students taking the exams, the tests tend to be low stakes -- no one must pass or achieve a certain score to graduate, gain honors or to do pretty much anything. Read more...