We empirically demonstrate that teachers tend to overestimate student achievement

A review on the accuracy of teacher judgments. Detlef Urhahne, Lisette Wijnia. Educational Research Review, Volume 32, February 2021, 100374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100374

Highlights

• The review synthesizes 40 years of research on the accuracy of teacher judgments.

• We explain the methodological approaches and summarize main research findings.

• We empirically demonstrate that teachers tend to overestimate student achievement.

• We discuss moderators and show the effects on teaching and the learning of students.

• We present theoretical approaches and ways to improve teacher judgment accuracy.

Abstract: In everyday school life, teachers need a wide range of judgment competencies to accurately assess student characteristics, learning and task requirements. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize the methodological, empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge from 40 years of research on the accuracy of teacher judgments. We define the accuracy of teacher judgments and differentiate the term from other related constructs. We explain the methodological approaches and summarize the main research findings on the accuracy of teacher judgments of student characteristics and task difficulties. Furthermore, we empirically demonstrate that teachers tend to overestimate student achievement on standardized tests. We discuss possible moderators of teachers’ judgment accuracy and show the effects on teaching and the learning of students. We present the main theoretical approaches that can explain the empirical findings and describe ways to improve teacher judgment accuracy. In the discussion, we address important implications for research and practice.

Keywords: Teacher judgmentDiagnostic competenceJudgment accuracy