Low-Stakes Online Practice Exams Increase Students’ Performance In Formal Exams And Overall Success In Science Courses
Abstract
The utilization of practice exams provides students the opportunity to further develop and implement college success skills, identify information gaps, and increase learning. The session will present the results of a study that examined the effects of completing online practice exams by students enrolled in Human Anatomy & Physiology I on individual formal exams and overall course success. Practice exams were comparative in structure to formal exams, i.e., same number and type of questions. Students were also given the same time to complete practice exams as the formal exam. Results showed that students who took all four practice exams had a higher passing rate (80.95%) than the class as a whole (65.7%), including students that did not take any practice exams (50.0%). The study also showed that the percentage of students getting an A as a final grade was more or less constant regardless of whether students took all, some or none of the practice exams.
Attendees can expect to gain information regarding research findings and the effects of practice exam completion on formal exam grades and overall course success. This session will also provide the opportunity to discuss best practices in utilizing practice exams as a pedagogical tool in college courses.
Location
Room 1220 A
Recommended Citation
Reuter, Peter and Parker, Stacey, "Low-Stakes Online Practice Exams Increase Students’ Performance In Formal Exams And Overall Success In Science Courses" (2015). SoTL Commons Conference. 123.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2015/123
Low-Stakes Online Practice Exams Increase Students’ Performance In Formal Exams And Overall Success In Science Courses
Room 1220 A
The utilization of practice exams provides students the opportunity to further develop and implement college success skills, identify information gaps, and increase learning. The session will present the results of a study that examined the effects of completing online practice exams by students enrolled in Human Anatomy & Physiology I on individual formal exams and overall course success. Practice exams were comparative in structure to formal exams, i.e., same number and type of questions. Students were also given the same time to complete practice exams as the formal exam. Results showed that students who took all four practice exams had a higher passing rate (80.95%) than the class as a whole (65.7%), including students that did not take any practice exams (50.0%). The study also showed that the percentage of students getting an A as a final grade was more or less constant regardless of whether students took all, some or none of the practice exams.
Attendees can expect to gain information regarding research findings and the effects of practice exam completion on formal exam grades and overall course success. This session will also provide the opportunity to discuss best practices in utilizing practice exams as a pedagogical tool in college courses.
