The Impact of Technology-Enhanced Items on Test-Taker Disengagement

Technology-Enhanced Items (TEIs) have been purported to be more motivating and engaging to test takers than traditional multiple-choice items. The claim of enhanced engagement, however, has thus far received limited research attention. This study examined the rates of rapid-guessing behavior received by three types of items (multiple-choice, multiple select, and TEIs) on a commonly-used K-12 adaptive achievement test. Across three subject areas, the TEIs consistently showed the lowest rapid guessing rate, suggesting that their use may help mitigate the problem of disengaged test taking.