Using the NAEP High School Transcript Study as an Indirect Measure of Student Motivation

• In Event: 60.083 - Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 60.083-4 - NAEP Studies SIG Roundtable: Using NAEP to Understand Student Engagement

Abstract

The National Assessment Governing Board plans to use the NAEP twelfth-grade assessments to create student preparedness indicators for college-level studies and job training. Student motivation concerns arise with utilizing the NAEP twelfth-grade assessment data. The NAEP assessments are low-stakes tests that do not affect a student’s grades or graduation status. Except for the intrinsic sake of doing well, there is no reward for the student to do their best on the assessments. This paper explores student participation in the NAEP twelfth-grade assessments from 2000 to 2009, using the NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) data to measure the students’ academic capabilities. The data from the transcript studies provide possible insights into how motivated students were on the assessments.

Authors

• Robert Colby Perkins, Westat

• Judy H. Tang, Westat

• Janis D. Brown, U.S. Department of Education

• Stephen E. Roey, Westat