Effects of exam size and frequency on study habits, test perceptions and achievement

Background/Question/Methods

Introductory science coursework often poses great challenges for undergraduate students. The emerging time management and study skills of students in introductory courses coupled with the large amount of information which students must learn, analyze and synthesize often lead to grades that are lower than instructors and students would desire. We hypothesized that the use of more frequent smaller exams would lower anxiety and encourage more regular studying, thus improving student performance and leading to more positive perceptions regarding exams and grades. We tested this in an introductory ecology and evolutionary biology course for non-science majors at Western Oregon University over a three-year time period from 2010 to 2013. During a ten-week term, students were either given four 25-minute exams (called mini-exams) falling approximately every other week, or were given two 50-minute exams (called midterms) spaced four weeks apart. Each midterm contained the same number of questions and covered the same content as two mini-exams. All students were given a comprehensive final exam during the eleventh week of term. Indicator questions covering key content from each unit were included on all exams to assess performance and surveys were administered to gather information on study habits, test anxiety and exam perceptions. 

Results/Conclusions

During the study period the course demographics were approximately 50% freshmen, 66% female and 10% non-native speakers of English. The course also served a high proportion of first-generation college students and Hispanic/Latino students (groups identified by the National Science Foundation as underserved in STEM education). Mini-exams slightly improved student performance on in-term exams (P<0.05) but had no effect on performance on the final exam. Students studied less for mini-exams (but had higher total study hours across the term) than midterms, and more often reported that the amount of studying for mini-exams was comparable to what they did for other classes on campus. Students reported that the midterm format required more studying than other classes on campus. Interestingly, the mini-exam format had no affect on self-reported test anxiety level. Overall, students who took mini-exams strongly preferred the mini-exam format (83%) while students who took midterm exams only showed marginal preference for the midterm format (56%). Some students who took a course section using midterms after having experienced mini-exams complained to instructors about returning to the midterm format.  Our study suggests that exam size and frequency affects student perceptions and study behavior more strongly than it does performance.