Limitations in predicting student performance on standardized tests

Abstract

The Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) describes student attitudes and expectations toward learning, and might be used to predict normalized gains on tests such as the Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE). These predictions are incomplete, though, due to limitations of the standardized tests themselves. I illustrate the problems involved in using the MPEX to predict productive attitudes toward learning physics by focusing on two students, both with seemingly appropriate expectations toward learning. While one had high normalized gains, the other did not, due to "false favorable" responses on the MPEX.