ERIC Number: EJ745036
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 34
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-9048
EISSN: N/A
Student Reactions to Being Wrongly Informed of Failing a High-Stakes Test: The Case of the Minnesota Basic Standards Test
Cornell, Dewey G.; Krosnick, Jon A.; Chang, LinChiat
Educational Policy, v20 n5 p718-751 2006
How do students react to being told that they have failed a test required for high school graduation? In 2000, 7,989 students were wrongly informed that they had failed the Minnesota Basic Standards Test in mathematics. The authors conducted a survey of 911 of these students to assess the psychosocial impact of this event. More than 80% of students reported that they increased studying, and nearly half reduced their extracurricular activities. Students reported a range of adverse emotional reactions, with more than 80% reporting that they felt depressed, worried, or embarrassed. About half said that they felt stupid and less proud of themselves. About 4% reported that they dropped out of school as a result of being told that they failed the examination. These findings point to the largely unaddressed need to study student reactions to failing high-stakes tests. (Contains 5 tables and 2 notes.)
Descriptors: Student Reaction, High Stakes Tests, Failure, Mathematics Tests, Student Surveys, Student Attitudes, Depression (Psychology), Exit Examinations, High School Seniors, Emotional Response, Torts, Error Correction, Case Studies, Statistical Distributions, Computer Assisted Testing, Questionnaires
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A