The Influence of Non-cognitive Skills on a Multiple Choice Test Evaluation in Higher Education

I apply a recent methodology proposed by Borghans and Schils (2012) to a multiple choice test administered in an evaluation of business students. I find that on average the probability of correctly answering a question is reduced between a 8.52 and 11.2 percentage points when it occupies the last position in the test (in comparison to when it occupies the first position). In relative terms, this represents a 13.3-17.5% reduction in students’ test scores. Following previous research, we can associate students’ decline in performance with their non-cognitive skills.