In defence of psychometric measurement: a systematic review of contemporary self-report feedback inventories

Abstract How learners understand, respond to, and value educational feedback has been researched with self-report inventories, in which respondents provide insights into how they understand and claim to use feedback. The validity of learner self-reports depends on the credibility of the measures for both reliability and validity. A systematic search of Scopus for studies post-1999 found 42 studies using multiple indicators, multiple causes (MIMIC) psychometric methods to measure participants’ perceptions of feedback, giving evidence of internal structure and finding relationships with one or more of self-regulation, self-efficacy, or achievement emotions. A detailed analysis was conducted for ten inventories that had high-quality psychometric properties. Agreeing that feedback was useful and/or was used was positively associated with greater academic outcomes. However, only one inventory provided evidence related to independently measured behaviors. Important directions for further research are identified, including the use of strong psychometric methods, independent validation measures, replication samples, and behavioral measures.