Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Do Test Scores Misrepresent Test Results? An Item-by-Item Analysis. Discussion Paper #2025.13 |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Jesse Bruhn, Michael Gilraine, Jens Ludwig, Sendil Mullainathan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Blueprint Labs, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) |
| Source: |
Blueprint Labs. 2025. |
| Availability: |
Blueprint Labs. 30 Wadsworth Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. e-mail: contact@mitblueprintlabs.org; Web site: https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: |
N |
| Page Count: |
85 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Testing, Tests, Scores, Test Results, Response Style (Tests), Data Use, Testing Problems, Item Analysis, Item Response Theory, Data, Data Interpretation |
| Geographic Terms: |
Texas |
| Abstract: |
Much of the data collected in education is effectively thrown away. Students answer individual test questions, but administrators and researchers only see aggregate performance. All the item-level data are lost. Ex ante it is not clear this destroys much useful information, since the aggregate might be a sufficient statistic. Using data from Texas for 5 million students and 1.31 billion student-item responses, the researchers show that in fact aggregation does destroy a great deal of valuable information in education: (1) Even conditional on a summary test measure, there is additional information in the item-level data; (2) This additional information is relevant for the student outcomes that education decisions seek to optimize; and (3) This information can be made practically useful for schools. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Access URL: |
https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/research/do-test-scores-misrepresent-test-results-an-item-by-item-analysis/ |
| Accession Number: |
ED678493 |
| Database: |
ERIC |
