A School District Decided to Try a New Computerized Testing

question 21

Multiple Choice

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.

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Definitions:

Arithmetically

Relating to or based on arithmetic, the branch of mathematics dealing with the properties and manipulation of numbers.

Thomas Malthus

An English economist and demographer known for his theory that population growth will always tend to outrun the food supply.

Food Supplies

The availability and distribution of edible goods and commodities to meet the consumption needs of the population.

Evolutionary Mechanism

A process by which variations in the genetic material of organisms lead to differences in traits that can affect an organism's survival and reproduction.