Self-Assessment Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Improves Test
Performance in 8th Grade Algebra Students

Mahathi Girla; John Leddo

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i09.048

Title: Self-Assessment Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Improves Test Performance in 8th Grade Algebra Students
Authors: Mahathi Girla and John Leddo
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 9 Publication Date: September 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i09.048
\|\| \|\|
Mahathi Girla1 and John Leddo1,2,3 1. MyEdMaster, LLC, Virginia, USA 2. METY Technology, Inc., Virginia, USA 3. METY Foundation, Virginia, USA
MLA 8 Girla, Mahathi, and John Leddo. "Self-Assessment Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Improves Test Performance in 8th Grade Algebra Students." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 9, Sept. 2026, pp. 5259-5272, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i09.048. Accessed Sept. 2026. APA 6 Girla, M., & Leddo, J. (2026, September). Self-Assessment Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Improves Test Performance in 8th Grade Algebra Students. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(9), 5259-5272. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i09.048 Chicago Girla, Mahathi, and John Leddo. "Self-Assessment Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Improves Test Performance in 8th Grade Algebra Students." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 9 (September 2026), 5259-5272. Accessed September, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i09.048.
References [1] . Ahmad, M. and Leddo, J. (2023). The Effectiveness of Cognitive Structure Analysis in Assessing Students’ Knowledge of the Scientific Method. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 8(8), 2397-2410. [2] . Bajwa, J., Leddo, J. and Verdu, M. (2026). Incorporating Student Self-assessment and Remediation into Classroom Instruction Greatly Improves Educational Performance in High School Reading Students. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(3), 1073-1084. [3] . Chaoui, F. (2011). The efficacy of multiple-choice tests in large classrooms. Educational Research Review, 6(3), 103-115. [4] . Challagulla, M. and Leddo, J. (2025). Assessing and Remediating Knowledge Improves Problem-solving Performance in Middle School Math Compared to Remediating Problem-solving Steps. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(8), 3574-3586. [5] . Challagulla, R., Challagulla, L. and Leddo, J. (2025). Improving Reading Comprehension in Elementary School Students in India by Teaching Them to Self-Assess and Remediate Their Own Learning Needs. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5586-5596. [6] . Chandhu, H. and Leddo, J. (2026a). AI-Generated Self-Assessment Templates Greatly Improve Math Performance in 11th Graders: A Test of the METYFoundation.org Free Self-Assessment Website. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(8), 4378-4393. [7] . Chandhu, H. and Leddo, J. (2026b). Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-Directed Learning Using Self-assessment and Remediation With METYFoundation.org-Generated Templates. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(9), 4793-4809. [8] . Chandhu, H. and Leddo, J. (2026c). AI-Generated Self-Assessment Templates Greatly Improve Math Performance in 8th Graders: A Test of the METYFoundation.org Free Self-Assessment Website. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(9), 4932-4946. [9] . Chen, Y. and Leddo, J. (2025a). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Chinese Middle School Achievement in Physics. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(9), 4473-4482. [10] . Chen, Y. and Leddo, J. (2025b). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Chinese Primary School Achievement in Reading. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5576-5585. [11] . Cynkin, C. and Leddo, J. (2023). Teaching students to self-assess using Cognitive Structure Analysis: Helpingr students determine what they do and do not know. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 08(09), 3009-3020. [12] . Dandemraju, A., Dandemraju, R., and Leddo, J. (2024). Teaching students to self-assess their knowledge of chemistry using cognitive structure analysis. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 09(02), 541–549. [13] . de Ayala, R. J. (2009). The reliability and validity of standardized tests in education. Educational Measurement, 18(4), 35-50. [14] . de Kleer, J. and Brown, J.S. (1981). Mental models of physical mechanisms and their acquisition. In J.R. Anderson (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. [15] . Elbrink, H., and Waits, B. (1970). The reliability of multiple-choice testing methods in educational assessments. Testing and Evaluation, 14(1), 54-67. [16] . Frary, R. (1985). Constructive response tests and their impact on academic learning. Educational Measurement, 22(3), 119-132. [17] . Gagula, A. and Leddo, J. (2026). Incorporating Student Self-assessment and Remediation into Classroom Instruction Greatly Improves Educational Performance in Elementary School Math Students. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(2), 803-814. [18] . Ganne, Y. and Leddo, J. (2026). Evaluating the Impact of Personalized Adaptive AI vs. Standardized ChatGPT on the Short-Term Academic Performance in Adolescents. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(3), 1059-1072. [19] . Herman, J. L., Klein, D. C., Heath, T. M., and Wakai, S. T. (1994). A first look: Are claims for alternative assessment holding up? (CSE Tech. Rep. No. 391). Los Angeles: University of California, Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing. [20] . Ifenatuora, G. P., Leddo, J., Sobayo, A. J., Ogude, O. F., Demian, G. C., & Emodi, U. S. (2026). Incorporating student self-assessment and remediation into classroom instruction greatly improves educational performance in senior secondary students in Nigeria. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(4), 1622–1636. [21] . Keshri, A. and Leddo, J. (2026). No Student Falls Behind: Using Self-Assessment to Improve Academic Performance in Pre-school Children. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(9), in press. [22] . Leddo, J. and Ahmad, M. (2024). Do You Want to Raise Student Achievement? Then, Assess and Remediate Knowledge, Not Problem-solving Performance. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 9(1), 249-261. [23] . Leddo, J., Clark, E. and Clark, A. (2025). Using self-assessment and remediation to raise middle school student achievement in math. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(3), 1083-1092. [24] . Leddo, J., Cohen, M.S., O'Connor, M.F., Bresnick, T.A., and Marvin, F.F. (1990). Integrated knowledge elicitation and representation framework (Technical Report 90?3). Reston, VA: Decision Science Consortium, Inc. [25] . Leddo, J., Li, S. and Zhang, Y. (2022). Cognitive Structure Analysis: A technique for assessing what students know, not just how they perform. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 7(11), 3716-3726. [26] . Maviti, A. and Leddo, J. (2025). A Self-assessment Chatbot Greatly Outperforms Chat GPT in Teaching High School Students Calculus. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5519-5531. [27] . Maviti, A., Leddo, J. and Prakash, P. (2025). A Self-assessment Chatbot Greatly Outperforms Gemini in Teaching High School Students Calculus. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(11), 6073-6085. [28] . Mishra, G. and Leddo, J. (2026a). Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(8), 4345-4360. [29] . Mishra, G. and Leddo, J. (2026b). Self-Assessment and Remediation Using Cognitive Structure Analysis Greatly Improve Test Performance in 9th Grade Marketing Students. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(9), in press. [30] . National Assessment Governing Board. (2023). NAEP long-term trend assessment. https://www.nagb.gov/naep/long-term-trend.html [31] . National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). NAEP long-term trend assessment results: Reading and mathematics. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2023/ [32] . Nehra, P. and Leddo, J. (2024). The effects of Cognitive Structure Analysis in self-assessing and remediating knowledge gaps in introductory Spanish. Journal of Educational Psychology, 45(3), 78-89. [33] . Newell, A. and Simon, H. (1972). Human Problem Solving. Prentice-Hall. [34] . O’Neil, H. F. and Brown, D. S. (1997). The impact of self-assessment on student performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 12(1), 89-102. [35] . Quillian, M. R. (1966). Semantic memory. In M. Minsky (Ed.), Semantic Information Processing (pp. 227-270). MIT Press. [36] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025a). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Student Achievement in Reading Comprehension. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(1), 277-286. [37] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025b). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Student Achievement in Mathematics. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(1), 447-456. [38] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025c). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Student Achievement in History. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(3), 650-659. [39] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025d). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Middle School Student Achievement in Reading Comprehension. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(3), 1130-1140. [40] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025e). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Middle School Student Achievement in Science. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(4), 1471-1482. [41] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025f). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Middle School Student Achievement in History. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(6), 2429-2440. [42] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025g). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Elementary School Student Achievement in Mathematics. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(9), 4058-4068. [43] . Prakash, P. and Leddo, J. (2025h). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise Elementary School Student Achievement in Reading. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5532-5541. [44] . Rapolu, S. and Leddo, J. (2026a). The Impact of a Self-Evaluation Chatbot on High School Students’ Learning of Cell Communication. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(1), 320-333. [45] . Rapolu, S. and Leddo, J. (2026b). A Comparison of the Relative Effectiveness of Student Self- Assessment/Remediation vs. Using a Self-Assessment Chatbot on Raising Student Performance. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(7), 3613-3629. [46] . Ravi, D. and Leddo, J. (2024). Improving Student Performance by Having Students: Assess and Remediate Their Own Knowledge Deficiencies. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 9(10), 4717-4724. [47] . Sathiyamoorthy, S.S. and Leddo, J. (2025). Using Self-Assessment and Remediation to Raise College Student Achievement in Psychology. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(5), 1859-1869. [48] . Schank, R. C. and Abelson, R. P. (1977). Scripts, plans, goals, and understanding. Lawrence Erlbaum. [49] . Zhou, L.N. and Leddo, J. (2023). Cognitive Structure Analysis: Assessing Students’ Knowledge of Precalculus. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 8(9), 2826-2836.
ABSTRACT: Low student performance continues to plague educational systems around the world. The US, for example, has invested billions of dollars in educational reform over the past 50 years in the hope of dramatically raising student achievement but with little to show for this investment. Our previous research shows that Cognitive Structure Analysis-based assessment greatly improves student performance. In the present study, 8th grade algebra students studying linear equations either did or did not engage in self-assessment. Results showed that students who did not use the templates scored 76%, on average, on the teacher’s post-test, while those using the AI-generated self-assessment template scored 86.5%, on average, a 10.5 percentage point increase. Results support previous self-assessment findings that a self-assessment method that takes 10 minutes to learn can dramatically improve student performance.

IJSSER is Member of