Measuring Elaborative Inferences With MOCCA-College

• In Event: Assessing Student Learning From a Cognitive Perspective: Challenges and Innovations

Abstract

This study examines the role of elaborations in discourse processing as a part of the MOCCA-College cognitive diagnostic assessment. Using a mixture of 1,100 examinees scores, item test statistics, human coding, and automated text analysis from Coh-Metrix, we explore which text features of elaborations affect overall item difficulty and readability of expository test items. Initial results indicated that certain types of elaborations and structures (i.e., lists and definitions) are correlated with item difficulty. Additionally, other text features of consistency, coherence, and cohesion are associated with item difficulty and discrimination. These results are discussed in the context of improving the MOCCA-College assessment and understanding elaborations in general.

Authors

• Benjamin Seipel, CSU, Chico

• Amanda Dahl

• Heather Ness, Georgia State University

• Sarah Elizabeth Carlson, Georgia State University

• Virginia Clinton-Lisell, University of North Dakota

• Mark L. Davison, University of Minnesota