Do weekly quizzes improve student performance?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether quizzes in the basic statistics class influence final grades. Furthermore, it explored whether students with weekly quizzes performed better on assessment instruments. Students' quiz records were compared to their test scores, and the results indicated that the group with weekly quizzes performed better on tests than the control group without quizzes. Student test performance is better when the weekly quiz average is high; and students with better test performance demonstrate better knowledge of the course material.

Introduction

In recent times, the topic of how to improve student learning has been of considerable interest in the administrative and academic community. There is also considerable discussion about the importance of assignments, homework, quizzes, and tests as it relates to student learning (Smith, Zsidisin and Adams, 2005). This concern for assignments, quizzes, tests, and how to ensure students are maximizing their learning, is the foundation for this study. For many parents, educators, and instructors, frequent quizzes are an apparently infallible prescription for improving student performance (Finn and Achilles, 2003). Performance in this study means understanding the subject matter better.

The first question the investigator asked was: If we administer weekly quizzes, will students perform better on tests and learn more? The second question asked was, do we not get an accurate assessment of student performance from tests and similar assessment tools routinely used in classes, such as homework assignments? While it is tempting to answer yes to the second question, there seems to be little evidence to support such an answer (Ledman and Kamuche, 2002). We seem to be having problem with this issue of assessing student learning. For example in basic statistics classes, for whatever reason, students seemed to be having difficulty. Some students have the wrong impression of basic statistics. Some see it as a demanding and very difficult subject. As a result, the students seem not to do well in the basic statistics class. All the topics covered in basic statistics are consistent and cumulative in nature. Each chapters basic concept is build into the next chapter, and all topics in basic statistics are unique and very relevant. Each concept or chapter must be clearly understood before going on to the next concept.

My approach is, after each concept is discussed and explained, a quiz is given to access and identify students who are having problem with the course earlier on. This assessment is done on a weekly basis. The quiz is also reviewed every week. This way students who are having problems earlier on, understanding the subject matter can identify and articulate their problem from the weekly review. To investigate this problem, the following theoretical framework was used.

Theoretical Framework for this Study

Interest in how to improve student learning is not new. It is a universal concern among parents, educators, instructors, and administrators of educational institutions. Improvement of student learning is a prime interest and effort. It is generally assumed that quizzes and tests are a prerequisite for a successful completion of course works. In practice, college and university instructors list rules and guidelines related to quizzes and tests expectations for students. The author considers quizzes and tests to be student's responsibility and the student is expected to take all quizzes, tests, and complete all assignments. Faculty are expected to keep student quiz and tests records.

In an era characterized by accelerating technological change, increasing economic uncertainties, low student achievement, and growing demand for accountability, educational institutions are challenged to prepare students to function successfully in their chosen careers in the world (Chowdhury, Al-Share, and Miller, 2005; Geimer, et al 2000). This low student achievement makes it imperative that administrators of educational institutions find ways to improve student learning. Many reasons are advanced for this situation, including complications attributed to not understanding the materials, not attending class, and/or taking corrective measures as defined or identified by frequent quizzing (Chowdhury, Al-Share and Miller, 2005; and Kamuche and Ledman, 2004). With weekly quizzes and their reviews, it is easier for an instructor to know earlier on how well the students understand each lecture or concept. The best learning is when the instructor actively engages or involves students to learn by doing the quizzes. It will likely enhance their learning and supposedly, they will perform better. As noted by Beets and Lobingier (2001) pedagogical research needs to begin to assess learning. Such evaluations need to go beyond grades and test scores to assess understanding (Ledman and Kamuche, 2003; Still and Clayton, 2004). This study evaluates the impact of quizzes on student performance among basic statistics students. That evaluation specifically assesses whether students who were exposed to weekly quizzes also have a better understanding of course material.

Several studies have suggested the need for a meaningful assessment (Adams, 2005; Arias and Walker, 2004; Ballard and Johnson, 2004; Bifulco, Duncombe and Yinger, 2005; Cohn and others, 2004; Dougherty and others, 1995; Ferguson 2004; Figlio and Lucas, 2004; Hartnett, Romcke and Yap, 2004; Hayes, 2002; Hughes, 2004; Jurges and Schneider, 2004; Koku and Qureshi, 2004; Krohn, O'Connor and Kennedy, 2005; Lawrence and Singhania, 2004; Pittenger, Miller and Mort, 2004; Rivkin, Hanushek and Kain, 2005; Still and Clayton, 2004; and Sullivan, Terpenny and Singh, 2004). These studies indicate that for the specific case studied, the change in systems did have a positive effect on performance. Most education research has confirmed that frequent quizzes do yield benefits for example Ballard and Johnson (2004) and Geist and Soehren (1997) compared test results of students who were exposed to quizzes with a control group who experience no quizzes. They found significantly higher scores for students who experienced quizzes and concluded that frequent quizzing influence learning performance. The mean scores for these students were significantly higher than for students in the group who experienced no quizzes. However, Derouza and Fleming (2003) and Haberyan (2003) studied science students and found that student performance was not strongly impacted.

In one of the few published studies of frequent quizzing and performance, Geist and Soehren (1997) reported on a study of dental students. They conclude that frequent quizzing had a beneficial and significant influence on student performance. They further found that the positive effects on performance increased as quizzes increased. Thus, they concluded that quizzes do matter for academic performance, and teaching had an influential autonomous effect on learning (Stanca, 2004). Both of these studies were conducted in science courses. Freilich (1989) also examined effects of frequent quizzing on student performance in a general chemistry course. He found that quizzes were a determinant of student performance. These studies clearly suggest there is added value to students who take quizzes. If students who take quizzes outperform those who experienced no quizzes, it seems reasonable to conclude that something is occurring as a result of students who were exposed to quizzes. Therefore, the investigator hypothesized that students with weekly quizzes, not only perform better on tests but also learn more.

That conclusion leads to the primary objective of this study. If the ultimate goal is to increase student learning, can student performance in basic statistics be improved as a result of administering weekly quizzes? A review of research on behavior modification found that, on average, performance improved 17 percent when behavior modification techniques were used (Ledman and Kamuche, 2003; Lehrman, 2005; Stajkovic and Luthans, 1997). This study extends that research, to assess the impact of weekly quizzes on student performance and to assess the relationship between student test performance and the student's ability to demonstrate an understanding of the topic, as suggested by (Frost and Fukami, 1997; Ledman and Kamuche, 2002). The following two hypotheses developed by the investigator are given below.

H1 : Students who take weekly quizzes will perform significantly better on tests.

H2: Students who take weekly quizzes will earn higher grade in the course and learn more.

Research Method

Sample The sample in this study is the students in the investigator's classes over four academic years. The typical enrollment in the classes was thirty-five students per section with two or more section being taught each semester. The total enrollments in the basic statistics courses each year ranged from 105 in the fourth year to 165 in the first year. The combined enrollment in the second and third year was 330. The total enrollment for the college was approximately 3000 students during the years of this study.

Procedures Students' quiz records were maintained during the study years. As previously demonstrated by (Geist and Soehren, 1997; and Graham, 1999), student performance was significantly improved with the use of frequent quizzing. To test student performance, the students in the course used for this study were given the same treatments (faculty, syllabi, texts, course preparation materials, and tests) for all years of the study. By using the same instructor for all sections, the author control variation in instruction, lecture material, and topic coverage; also accounts for variation in student abilities. Since multiple choice is an objective test in a quantitative subject (basic statistics) the possibility of grading bias was minimized. The author administered weekly quizzes and compared results with the control group who experienced no quizzes. The experimental group (N = 305) experienced weekly quizzes whereas the control group (n = 295) experienced no quizzes. Quizzes were given on Thursdays and Fridays of every week. During the quiz time, the control groups were given in-class experiential exercise.

Data Collection College policies required faculty to maintain complete and accurate students' quiz/tests records. These records served as the data sources for this study. The final year of data collection was the end of fall semester 2004. The sample size was 600 students.

Data Analysis Regression and correlation analysis were used to measure the strength of the linear relationships, and also to measure the impact of quizzes on student performance. The t-tests were used to determine if there was a difference in the mean test performance between and within treatments. Hypotheses one and two were tested using regression and correlation analysis to measure the strength of the linear relationships. Hypotheses one and two were also tested using t-tests to determine if there was a difference in the mean test performance between and within treatments.

Results

The results of correlation analysis are shown below. H1: Relationship between weekly quizzes and test performance was .91. H2: Relationship between weekly quizzes and grade earned in the course was .83. The results of this study were significant for all the hypotheses questions at the .05 level. The correlation between quizzes and student test performance was 0.91. That correlation suggests a very strong linear relationship between weekly quizzes and student test performance. The correlation between quizzes and grade earned in the course was 0.83, again suggesting a strong linear relationship between weekly quizzes and their ability to demonstrate learning of the course material. The correlation between test performance and learning, as determine by the grade earned in the course was 0.79, again suggesting a strong linear relationship between student test performance and grade earned in the course. Thus, the relationship between the two hypothesis were significance and very relevant for this study. The t-tests were used to compare mean test performance between and within treatments showed no significant differences.

Discussion

This study provides evidence that faculty will likely aspire for their students to take weekly quizzes. The extremely high correlation between weekly quizzes and test performance clearly suggests that weekly quizzing is quite relevant to student performance in basic statistics. Clearly, the author can say weekly quizzes cause better performance.

Further study of the correlation between weekly quizzes and student performance is needed in different courses, especially in light of the findings for this study. The results of this study reveal that weekly quizzes have a greater impact than previously found by Derouza and Fleming (2003) and Haberyan (2003). They found that student performance was not strongly impacted while the investigator found significantly better performance. That difference could possibly be explained by the differences in the courses. Derouza and Fleming (2003) and Haberyan (2003) studied science students while the sample in this study is drawn from basic statistics courses. More studies with different types of courses are needed to improve our understanding of how student performance is impacted by weekly quizzes, for instance, courses in humanities.

These findings clearly suggest that weekly quizzing is important in learning basic statistics. The results of this study also clearly suggest that weekly quizzes are important for student learning. Figure 1 is an illustration of the relationship between weekly quizzes, test performance, and grades earned in the course based on this study. The figure illustrates that both test performance and grades earned in the course are improved when weekly quizzes were administered in basic statistics classes. See issue website http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/fal2005.htm

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

It should be noted again that findings of this study were based on a sample of students in statistics courses. The quantitative nature of these courses is such that they lend themselves to objective tests with precise answers. Such studies could present substantial challenges when the subjects in question are more abstract and tests are more subjective. Issues such as consistency in grading of subjective tests and measuring learning will need to be carefully considered in the research design (Ledman and Kamuche, 2002).

Conclusions

There is no doubt that weekly quizzes can deliver lasting benefits, especially for quantitative and basic statistics students. However, they are not a panacea for low academic achievement. Other assessment tools such as projects and service learning may achieve the same or more benefits as weekly tests.

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Felix U. Kamuche, Morehouse College, GA

Felix U. Kamuche, Assistant Professor at Morehouse College, received his Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. His research focuses on statistical methods and pedagogy.