Prospective educators as consumers of empirical research: an authentic assessment approach to make their competencies visible

Background Educators today have to be able to make current empirical research results usable for everyday practice. Consequently, there are increasing endeavors to develop and assess competencies in consuming empirical research (CCER) on an academic level. However, problems with regard to recruiting and motivating test participants—rooted in the prevalence of low-stakes testing conditions—could limit confidence in the validity of the findings. The current study presents a structure and proficiency level modeling for CCER under high-stakes conditions.