Confidence Wagering during Mathematics and Science Testing

This proposal presents the results of a case study involving five 8th grade Taiwanese classes, two mathematics and three science classes. These classes used a new method of testing called confidence wagering. This paper advocates the position that confidence wagering can predict the accuracy of a student's test answer selection during among-subject assessments. Quantitative analysis of data using the Risk Inclination Model (Jack, Hung, Liu, and Chiu, 2009) revealed that female students were more prone to taking risks when making confidence wagering predictions and less prone toward risk aversion as compared to their male counterparts. Qualitative analysis of student comments revealed a positive acceptance of confidence wagering as a good way to self-regulate the point value of selected answers, to assist the teacher and student in refining which areas need more instruction and practice, and to reveal where the student's confidence is incorrectly placed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)