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Exploring the impact of cumulative testing on academic performance of undergraduate students in Spain

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability volume 27, pages 153–169 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Frequent testing provides opportunities for students to receive regular feedback and to increase their motivation. It also provides the instructor with valuable information on how course progresses, thus making it possible to solve the problems encountered before it is too late. Frequent tests with noncumulative contents have been widely analysed in the literature with inconclusive results. However, cumulative testing methods have hardly been reported in higher education courses. This paper analyses the effect of applying an assessment method based on frequent and cumulative tests on student performance. Our results show that, when applied to a microeconomics course, students who were assessed by a frequent, cumulative testing approach largely outperformed those assessed with a single final exam.

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Notes

  1. It should be noted that students’ comments were translated into English, and the accuracy in what students wanted to transmit may have been somewhat lost.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Josep Domenech, Desamparados Blazquez & Elena de la Poza

  2. Universitat Jaume I, Campus Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain

    Ana Mun͂oz-Miquel

Authors
  1. Josep Domenech
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  2. Desamparados Blazquez
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  3. Elena de la Poza
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  4. Ana Mun͂oz-Miquel
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Correspondence to Josep Domenech.

Appendix A: Questionnaire to students

Appendix A: Questionnaire to students

Table 5
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Domenech, J., Blazquez, D., de la Poza, E. et al. Exploring the impact of cumulative testing on academic performance of undergraduate students in Spain. Educ Asse Eval Acc 27, 153–169 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-014-9208-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-014-9208-z

Keywords

  • Frequent testing
  • Student performance
  • Microeconomics
  • Feedback