A teacher was surprised to find a negative correlation between pretest scores and the amount of change in a pretest-posttest design.How would you explain the negative correlation to the teacher?
A) The students who did well on the pretest did not learn as much during the instructional period.
B) The method of instruction was not appropriate for those students who had high pretest scores.
C) Students who have high scores on the pretest can be expected to have low change scores because of the ceiling effect on the posttest.
D) The negative correlation is due to the low reliability of the pretest and the posttest.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The negative correlation can be explained by the ceiling effect on the posttest. Students who already score high on the pretest are likely to have limited room for improvement, resulting in lower change scores.

A Teacher Was Surprised to Find a Negative Correlation Between