Defining external regulation on standardized test instructions: A key variable for the academic success of students in the digital world

Determining the degree of external regulation by educators in the increasing digitalization of the school context is one of the most important issues we are facing in the future of students' learning. Educators must determine how to set up the learning environment and amount of direction provided to elicit their student's best performance. Standardized test assessments of cognitive abilities provide an important reference point for operationalizing how degree of examiner structure and direction during the administration of these tests may be related to individual differences in student performance. Our analysis of standardized instructions of several different measures of cognitive assessments illustrates how these assessments vary in their degree of external regulation, such as specifications of set up of physical environment, amount of instruction and feedback provided, examiner direction during administration and timing factors. Based on a coding scheme to identify and quantify these factors, we present a proof of concept by examining whether degree of external regulation may explain individual differences in test performance, particularly in at-risk learners such as child and youth with ADHD. Operationalizing what we have learned from years of refining instructions for standardized test administration can serve as a useful reference point for determining factors to optimize student learning within the digitalization of learning environments.

Educational relevance statement

This paper discusses the importance of the environment (more specifically, the testing environment) for students' success, particularly at-risk learners such as students with ADHD. To illustrate how environmental structure can impact student performance, instructions for standardized test assessments of cognitive skills were used to show how environmental structure can be operationalized in learning environments. Standardized test assessments of cognitive abilities provide an important reference point for operationalizing how degree of examiner structure and direction during the administration of these tests is related to individual differences in student performance. In this paper, we surveyed the instructions of some of the most common standardized assessments of cognitive abilities (intelligence and executive function tasks) to operationalize the types and degree of structure provided as part of the instructions and administration of these tests. Then, we identified illustrative studies to demonstrate how the nature and amount of examiner direction may explain individual differences in test performance, particularly in at-risk learners such as students with ADHD. Finally, the relevance for at-risk learners in online learning environments is discussed, given that this environment may be particularly challenging for educators to control and regulate to optimize learners' success.