Investigating the differences between confidence ratings in the answer and reason tiers in fourth graders via online four-tier test

Abstract

In this study, the author enrolled 982 fourth graders in Taiwan to investigate the differences (a) in confidence ratings between the answer and reason tier and (b) between students who provided correct and incorrect responses. This study administered a four-tier number sense test comprising an answer, confidence, reason, and confidence tier (the first, second, third, and fourth tier, respectively). The students had significantly higher confidence ratings on the reason tier than on the answer tier both for each number sense component and on the entire test. Approximately 87 % of the students selected equal confidence ratings in both tiers, and 8% had higher confidence ratings in the reason tier than in the answer tier. The results indicate that the students had significant misconceptions in 4 out of 32 questions in the answer tier and 11 out of 32 questions in the reason tier. These results have considerable implications for researchers and educators.