Behavioral and fMRI evidence of the differing cognitive load of domain-specific assessments

Highlights • Behaviorally, students differ in performance as a function of the method of assessment. • This may be explained by tests placing differing cognitive load on test-takers. • In this study, performance similarly differed as a function of assessment method. • In brain regions associated with WM, patterns of activation also differed by assessment method. • WM demands appear to differ across assessments, with implications for test results.