Do Large-Scale Student Assessments Really Capture Cognitive Skills?

Rafael De Hoyos,Richardo Estrada,María José Vargas

doi:10.1596/1813-9450-9537

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between test scores and cognitive skills using two longitudinal data sets that track student performance on a national standardized exam in grades 6, 9, and 12 and post-secondary school outcomes in Mexico. Using a large sample of twins, the analysis finds that primary school test scores are a strong predictor of secondary education outcomes and that this association is mainly driven by the relationship between test scores and cognitive skills, as opposed to family background and other general skills. Using a data set that links results in the national standardized test to later outcomes, the paper finds that secondary school test scores predict university enrollment and hourly wages. These results indicate that, despite their limitations, large-scale student assessments can capture the skills they are meant to measure and can therefore be used to monitor learning in education systems.

Highlights

IntroductionThere is increasing recognition that education brings about individual and society-wide benefits when students acquire a set of relevant skills during their formative years
Critics of standardized tests argue that this type of testing promotes a reductionist approach to education that emphasizes literacy and numeracy to the detriment of other important subject areas
The analysis shows that higher test scores in grade 6 have a large and significant relationship with the student’s likelihood of finishing lower and upper secondary school on time; among those who finish, grade 6 test scores are a strong predictor of secondary school test scores

Summary

Introduction

There is increasing recognition that education brings about individual and society-wide benefits when students acquire a set of relevant skills during their formative years. Many developing countries have implemented large-scale student assessments via standardized tests to monitor cognitive skills such as literacy and numeracy.. High-stakes tests can create perverse incentives that lead to game the system or teach to the test, which may raise test scores but not truly improve students’ learning.. High-stakes tests can create perverse incentives that lead to game the system or teach to the test, which may raise test scores but not truly improve students’ learning.2 The effects of these incentives on the reliability of standardized tests may be larger in developing countries, where weak implementation capacity is more prevalent. This paper seeks to answer the following question: Do large-scale student assessments based on standardized testing capture the cognitive skills they are designed to measure?

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