TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive fatigue influences students' performance on standardized tests
AU - Sievertsen, Hans Henrik
AU - Gino, Francesca
AU - Piovesan, Marco
PY - 2016/3/8
Y1 - 2016/3/8
N2 - Using test data for all children attending Danish public schools between
school years 2009/10 and 2012/13, we examine how the time of the test
affects performance. Test time is determined by the weekly class
schedule and computer availability at the school. We find that, for
every hour later in the day, test performance decreases by 0.9% of an SD
(95% CI, 0.7-1.0%). However, a 20- to 30-minute break improves average
test performance by 1.7% of an SD (95% CI, 1.2-2.2%). These findings
have two important policy implications: First, cognitive fatigue should
be taken into consideration when deciding on the length of the school
day and the frequency and duration of breaks throughout the day. Second,
school accountability systems should control for the influence of
external factors on test scores.
AB - Using test data for all children attending Danish public schools between
school years 2009/10 and 2012/13, we examine how the time of the test
affects performance. Test time is determined by the weekly class
schedule and computer availability at the school. We find that, for
every hour later in the day, test performance decreases by 0.9% of an SD
(95% CI, 0.7-1.0%). However, a 20- to 30-minute break improves average
test performance by 1.7% of an SD (95% CI, 1.2-2.2%). These findings
have two important policy implications: First, cognitive fatigue should
be taken into consideration when deciding on the length of the school
day and the frequency and duration of breaks throughout the day. Second,
school accountability systems should control for the influence of
external factors on test scores.
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1516947113
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1516947113
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 113
SP - 2621
EP - 2624
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 10
ER -