Testing a Theory About the Role of Classroom Assessment in Student Motivation and Achievement

A theoretical framework describing the role of classroom assessment in student effort and achievement expected positive relations among perceived characteristics of the assessment task, perceived self-efficacy to do the task, amount of effort invested in the task, and achievement for each classroom assessment event within a classroom assessment environment. Furthermore, the classroom assessment environment and the particular assessment events themselves were hypothesized to make a difference. A study investigating this theoretical framework was designed, using observation, survey, and interview techniques to collect data from 4 classroom assessment events in each of 2 Grade 3 classrooms. In general, expected relations were found among perceptions of task, self-efficacy, effort, and achievement. An exception was that for some assessments, perceived self-efficacy was not correlated with effort. Interview data suggested that extremely high self-efficacy, coupled with an assessment task that posed no challenge to a student, could lead to low perceptions of effort.