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Assessment and prediction of success in first year physics at an Australian university

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Abstract

A method of assessment, involving six one-hour tests, with provision to repeat four of them, has been used with favourable student and staff reaction in first year, two semester undergraduate physics courses. The style of question and marking criteria used previously in a conventional examination are retained.

The relationship between performance in Physics I, high school background and mark in the first physics test, held in the fifth week of the university course. are investigated through a series of regression analyses. An attempt is made to arrive at an appropriate entry criterion for admission to Physics I.

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O'Halloran, P.M., Russell, G.J. Assessment and prediction of success in first year physics at an Australian university. High Educ 9, 529–547 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02259952

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