Level of schooling effects on student conceptions of assessment : the impact of high-stakes assessments on secondary students' beliefs

Student beliefs about assessment appear to vary according to the level of schooling they are enrolled in, with high school students being more negative about assessment. The Students Conceptions of Assessment version 6 (SCoA-VI) inventory elicits attitudes towards four beliefs (assessment improves teaching and learning; assessment measures external factors; assessment has affective impact/benefit; and assessment is irrelevant). Using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, SCoA-VI responses of elementary school students (n=100) and high school students (n=134) revealed statistically significant mean score differences. The older students agreed less with improvement, affect/benefit, and external factors conceptions and more with the irrelevance conception. This study provides further evidence that student beliefs about assessment shift as they progress through school, possibly because of the changes in the assessment environment that occur during secondary schooling.