An Investigation of Why Students Do Not Respond to Questions

Title:	An Investigation of Why Students Do Not Respond to Questions
Description:	Developers of NAEP have substantially changed the mix of item types on assessments, decreasing the numbers of multiple-choice questions and increasing the numbers of short and extended constructed-response questions. At the same time, researchers have noted unacceptably high student nonresponse rates. These rates seem to vary with student characteristics like gender and race, and they potentially confound NAEP reports, analyses, and subsequent conclusions. The small-scale, exploratory study, which is qualitative in nature, offers insights for setting future studies. Future studies might include quantitative analysis of existing NAEP data sets to determine whether observed patterns of association between omissions and student or item characteristics hold up over larger numbers of students and items than were included in this study.
Online Availability:	Download, view and print the report as a pdf file. (569KB)
Cover Date:	April 2003
Web Release:	May 20, 2003
Print Release:	This Publication will only be available online.
Publication #:	NCES 200312 General Ordering Information
Center/Program:	NCES
Authors:	Pamela M. Jakewerth, Frances B. Stancavage
Type of Product:	Working Paper
	Working Papers provide preliminary analysis of substantive, technical, and methodological issues. They are works in progress that are presented to promote the sharing of valuable work experience and knowledge. These papers have not undergone a rigorous review for consistency with NCES standards.
Survey/Program Areas:	National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
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