A participant that is not motivated or engaged will likely not offer the adequate effort to read and understand a text or perform the test activities in a way that reflects there reading abilities. The results of the test will likely reflect their lack of motivation or engagement rather that their capacity to read and understand a text. 

Motivation and Engagement Challenges to Assessment Validity

- Defining Motivation in the Reading Assessment
- Motivation in Content
- Embedded Constructed Responses

Ways to Avoid the Challenges Posed by a Lack of Motivation or Engagement

Reading tests require that participants offer a necessary amount of effort to read and understand a text and then answer questions or perform tasks to demonstrate their comprehension. 

San Jose State University

- Background Knowledge
- Motivation and Engagement

Issues in Traditional Reading Assessments Addressed by GISA

O’Reilly, T. & Sabatini, J. (2013). Reading for understanding: How performance moderators and scenarios impact assessment design. ETS Research Report Series, 2013(2), i–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2013.tb02338.x


Reading for understanding: How performance moderators and scenarios impact assessment design

Background knowledge can effect outcomes in reading comprehension tests. Specifically, the test taker with background knowledge will have several advantages over those that do not. These advantages include:
- a better understanding of the text
- a better ability to infer unstated relationships between elements
- a developed schema of information to which they can add new information

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Related

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