Beyond Proficiency
Using Log Files to Understand Respondent Behaviour in the Survey of Adult Skills
Computer-based administration of large-scale assessments makes it possible to collect a rich set of information on test takers, through analysis of the log files recording interactions between the computer interface and the server. This report examines timing and engagement indicators from the Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), both of which indicate large differences across countries and socio-demographic groups, in the amount of time spent by respondents and their levels of disengagement, which reduce the probability of giving a correct answer and consequently reduces measured performance. Such insights can help policy makers, researchers and educators to better understand respondents’ cognitive strategies and the underlying causes of low and high performance. This, in turn, can help improve the design of assessments and lead to more effective training and learning programmes.
Measuring disengagement in the Survey of Adult Skills
This chapter uses timing indicators to estimate and analyse disengagement with the Survey of Adult Skills assessment. The analysis shows that the incidence of disengagement varies substantially across countries. Respondents with low levels of education and low familiarity with information and communications technology (ICT) are more likely to be disengaged, and respondents are more likely to be disengaged with items that appear in the second module of the assessment. Disengagement strongly reduces the probability of giving a correct answer, which results in disengaged individuals performing worse in the assessment. This relationship holds at both individual and country levels.
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