Student taking a test
When Thomas McCloskey’s silver wristwatch reads 5:05 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday, he instructs his students to pull out a half-sheet of paper and answer a question related to the previous night’s reading.
“My interest is in making sure students learn the material and have control over their own grades,” said McCloskey, who teaches COMM 107: Oral Communication: Principles and Practices. “Daily quizzes facilitate that.”
College students respond better to being graded on frequent quizzes rather than simply through midterms and final exams, according to a PLOS ONE study released last week. McCloskey said the scientific journal’s results are consistent with what he sees in his classroom.
Researchers studied 901 students at the University of Texas in an introductory psychology class. The students brought their laptops to class and took an online quiz daily. Researchers discovered that the average participating student scored half a letter grade higher than in previous semesters on exams with identical questions, and the students who took daily quizzes were better prepared and received higher grades in the other classes they took during and after the tested class.
The daily quizzes in the Texas class also seemed to have social benefits. When researchers compared student performance along social class lines, they found the achievement gap between students from lower- and higher-class backgrounds was nearly 50 percent narrower.
When quizzes are what launch each lecture, McCloskey said, students are encouraged to keep up with the work as it is assigned and focus on retaining the information. Frequent tests that cover small chunks of material help eliminate the need for ineffective study sessions at the last minute.
“My goal is not for students to cram as much information into their heads, forget it as soon as the exam is over and triage what assignments are important,” he said. “I would like them to generally learn all of the material to some extent so they remember it in a year, or whenever it’ll be useful. Daily quizzes facilitate better scores on exams and better long-term memory in general.”
A couple of challenging cumulative exams don’t always accurately demonstrate a student’s knowledge of the material and studying efforts, he said. Regularly administered assessments give a more holistic view of what a student has actually retained throughout the course.
Sophomore history major Kurt Wonilowicz said he recently failed a midterm in a philosophy class in which tests account for 80 percent of his final grade. Although he studied a few hours a day for almost a week leading up to the exam, one question confounded him, and it lowered his score by two letter grades.
“Exams are not necessarily an accurate reflection of students’ abilities. I think there are better ways to gauge students’ competency,” Wonilowicz said. “Some kids just rock at cramming. Small benchmark assignments are helpful — there needs to be a way that students who are committed to a class can show that.”
Junior Victoria Stewart said she wishes she had classes that followed the format described by the study. As an English and secondary education major, many of her classes are graded solely on a few hit-or-miss term papers and exams.
“If you don’t do well, it really screws you over and you don’t really have a chance to bring [your grade] up,” she said. “Even if you do poorly on one paper, you don’t get a good grade in the class.”
The PLOS ONE study also revealed that taking daily quizzes leads to increased attendance, as students have an added incentive to come to class.
At the University of Texas, the classes with daily quizzes reported 88.5 percent attendance in November. During the same month, 65.9 percent of students attended course sections that tested them based on the more traditional system.
“[Students] know there will be a direct consequence to them not coming to class, and I certainly think attendance has improved as a result,” McCloskey said.
But Wonilowicz said that using class assignments to ensure student turnout reminds him of being in grade school.
“It’s sort of catered to younger, more irresponsible students,” he said. “[The daily quizzes] are designed to make you show up to class every day, which almost belittles us. In college, you’re expected to take responsibility.”
