Motivation Matters: Using the Student Opinion Scale to Make Valid Inferences About Student Performance

Institutions of higher education are expected to address accountability and transparency of student learning and development efforts. The Student Opinion Scale assesses examinee motivation during testing and asks students to report level of effort invested and perceived importance of tasks. This article evaluates validity evidence and supports widespread instrument use.

[1]  R. Vandenberg,et al.  A Review and Synthesis of the Measurement Invariance Literature: Suggestions, Practices, and Recommendations for Organizational Research , 2000 .

[2]  Jeri Benson,et al.  Developing a Strong Program of Construct Validation: A Test Anxiety Example , 2005 .

[3]  Jeffrey K. Smith,et al.  Consequence of Performance, Test, Motivation, and Mentally Taxing Items , 1995 .

[4]  S. Maxwell,et al.  Implications of Recent Developments in Structural Equation Modeling for Counseling Psychology , 1999 .

[5]  Gordon W. Cheung,et al.  Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance , 2002 .

[6]  W. R. Dillon,et al.  A simulation study to investigate the use of cutoff values for assessing model fit in covariance structure models , 2005 .

[7]  Donna L. Sundre,et al.  An exploration of the psychology of the examinee: Can examinee self-regulation and test-taking motivation predict consequential and non-consequential test performance? , 2004 .

[8]  J. Nunnally Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[9]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. , 1990 .

[10]  H. Marsh,et al.  In Search of Golden Rules: Comment on Hypothesis-Testing Approaches to Setting Cutoff Values for Fit Indexes and Dangers in Overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler's (1999) Findings , 2004 .

[11]  Student Effort and Performance on a Measure of Postsecondary Educational Development. ACT Research Report Series 96-9. , 1996 .

[12]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[13]  Donna L. Sundre,et al.  The Student Opinion Scale: A measure of examinee motivation , 2002 .

[14]  P. Pintrich The dynamic interplay of student motivation and cognition in the college classroom , 1989 .

[15]  J. Eccles Expectancies, values and academic behaviors , 1983 .

[16]  Donna L. Sundre Does examinee motivation moderate the relationship between test consequences and test performance , 1999 .

[17]  Steven L. Wise,et al.  Response Time Effort: A New Measure of Examinee Motivation in Computer-Based Tests , 2005 .

[18]  Albert Maydeu-Olivares,et al.  Contemporary psychometrics : a festschrift for Roderick P. McDonald , 2005 .

[19]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[20]  R. MacCallum,et al.  Model modifications in covariance structure analysis: the problem of capitalization on chance. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[21]  Xitao Fan,et al.  Assessing The Factor Structure Invariance Of Self-Concept Measurement Across Ethnic And Gender Groups: Findings From A National Sample , 2003 .

[22]  Kit-Tai Hau,et al.  Goodness of fit in structural equation models , 2005 .

[23]  J. Steenkamp,et al.  Assessing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research , 1998 .