272 / 2018-09-01 00:28:51

Examining the effectiveness of construct-relevant and irrelevant cognitive processes on test taker's performance over time

Cognitive processing in test-taking, construct-relevance, and -irrelevance, longitudinal modeling

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Test-takers' cognitive processing can be broken down into strategies which contribute to construct-relevant variance to test results (e.g., metacognitive and cognitive strategies) and construct-irrelevant variance (e.g., test-wiseness strategies). However, most test-taking strategy studies do not look at the phenomenon of test-wiseness strategies at all (Cohen, 2014). Few studies have attempted to integrate both construct-relevant and -irrelevant strategic behaviors into a larger conceptual model. Furthermore, little is known about the changes or stabilities of strategic behaviors over time. This paper, therefore, reports on an empirical study which examines the nature of construct-relevant, i.e., metacognitive (planning, evaluating, and monitoring) and cognitive (grammar, vocabulary, comprehending, retrieval, and memory) strategic processing and construct-irrelevant, i.e., test-taking (knowledge of test-formats, peripheral knowledge, elimination, clarification, and checking) strategies and their direct and indirect relationships with test performance through the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. In this longitudinal study (3-month interval), 310 test-takers were asked to take two Use of English tests and reported on their cognitive behaviors through construct-relevant and irrelevant questionnaires immediately after their test-taking. It was found that the Use of English tests are not susceptible to construct-irrelevant strategies, indicating that these are cognitively demanding tests. The variety of test formats may prevent test-takers from using test-wiseness strategies to improve their test performance. The low effects of strategic behaviors on test performance suggested that strategic behaviors not be ‘super- drugs'. Cognitive behaviors can only best facilitate test takers' performance when there is a good match between the demands on language ability and strategic processes to deal with the test tasks. Since the findings suggest test-wiseness strategies do not have measurable, effects on test-performance, so language test preparation programs may need to have less focus on test-wiseness strategy instruction, but the focus should be on construct-relevant strategic behaviors and language knowledge itself.