ERIC Number: EJ1069909
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1554-9178
EISSN: N/A
Do Students Know What They Know? Exploring the Accuracy of Students' Self-Assessments
Lindsey, Beth A.; Nagel, Megan L.
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, v11 n2 p020103-1-020103-11 Jul-Dec 2015
We have conducted an investigation into how well students in introductory science classes (both physics and chemistry) are able to predict which questions they will or will not be able to answer correctly on an upcoming assessment. An examination of the data at the level of students' overall scores reveals results consistent with the Dunning-Kruger effect, in which low-performing students tend to overestimate their abilities, while high-performing students estimate their abilities more accurately. Similar results have been widely reported in the science education literature. Breaking results out by students' responses to individual questions, however, reveals that students of all ability levels have difficulty distinguishing questions which they are able to answer correctly from those that they are not able to answer correctly. These results have implications for the future study and reporting of students' metacognitive abilities.
Descriptors: Accuracy, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Metacognition, Prediction, Predictive Validity, Predictive Measurement, Grades (Scholastic), Academic Achievement, Academic Ability, College Students, Student Surveys, Scoring, Performance Based Assessment, Pretests Posttests, Achievement Tests, Difficulty Level, Self Efficacy, Science Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A