A school district decided to try a new computerized testing system. Two schools were selected for the trial based on the students being similar at the beginning of the school year. Students at one school were given the paper-and-pencil version of the test while the students at another school received the computerized test version. The results indicated that the students performed better on the computerized version. However, someone pointed out that on the day of the test there was a fire drill at the school using the paper-and-pencil test. This fire drill confound would be described as
A) a selection-history bias interaction.
B) a selection bias.
C) a testing effect.
D) an instrumentation effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fire drill at the school using the paper-and-pencil test introduces a selection-history bias interaction because it is an external event that occurred only to one group (the group taking the paper-and-pencil test), potentially affecting their performance independently of the test format. This makes it difficult to attribute differences in test performance solely to the test format.

A School District Decided to Try a New Computerized Testing