What is a test's ceiling effect?

• A. A phenomenon where high-achieving students do not get credit for their true ability due to limitations in the test’s range
• B. An occurrence where low-achieving students cannot show progress
• C. A scenario where all students perform equally well
• D. A result where test scores are skewed from extreme performance

Answer: (A)

Ceiling effect happens when the test’s upper end isn’t challenging enough, so high-ability students can’t be distinguished because many of them reach the maximum score. When the top of the scale is capped, true differences in ability at the high end aren’t captured, making it hard to see who is truly strongest or who made smaller gains. This loss of sensitivity at the top means you can’t accurately measure growth for top performers or compare the strongest students. The other options describe different issues: a floor effect involves the bottom end limiting ability to show progress for those with low scores, not the top end; all students performing similarly isn’t about the test’s range; and a skewed distribution reflects shape of scores, not a capped ceiling.