Assessing the Impact of Testing Aids on Post-Secondary Student Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Larwin, Karen H.; Gorman, Jennifer A.; Larwin, David A.

doi:10.1007/s10648-013-9227-1

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Student-prepared aids (e.g. own notes or "cheat sheets") had a more positive effect than other material (Larwin et al 2013). The results of this study support these findings with students perceiving a positive effect on performance with own notes added to texts perceived as the most beneficial testing aid at their disposal.…”

Section: Effect On Performancesupporting

confidence: 73%

Accountancy students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effect of open-book assessments on writing examinations

Kruger

2020

SAJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Open-book assessment (OBA) can contribute to the development of competency in handling large amounts of information in the knowledge economy. This is one of the reasons why the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) implemented OBA for its Initial Test of Competence. This empirical study investigated final year accountancy students' and lecturers' perceptions of the effect on writing examinations after their method of assessment changed from a closed-book (CBA) to an open-book assessment format. Students and lecturers perceived a change in writing behaviour, reduced anxiety, and improved performance. On some aspects the level of agreement between students and lecturers differed significantly. There is also evidence that black students perceived OBA to be less beneficial compared to the perceptions of white students. For subjects for which substantial texts were available, students perceived the least change happened for Auditing while lecturers perceived the least change for Financial Accounting. Both students and lecturers perceived the most change happened for Taxation. It is important that lecturers at departments of accountancy take cognisance of these perception gaps and to adjust their teaching to enable their students to utilise their texts as an additional resource optimally. This study is also of value to the regulatory bodies to evaluate their assessment practises.

show abstract

Section: Effect On Performancesupporting

confidence: 73%

Accountancy students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effect of open-book assessments on writing examinations

Kruger

2020

SAJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The sizes of effects for this learning method are discernibly larger than those for the other course-based learning methods. Notwithstanding these differences, problem-based learning (including guided design), student self-directed learning, critical thinking instruction, and different kinds of note-taking practices [95][96][97] were all positively related to student performance. In contrast, visually-based learning and explanation-based learning were associated with smaller sizes of effect for the influence of these learning methods on student performance.…”

Section: Course-based Learning Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metasynthesis of Preservice Professional Preparation and Teacher Education Research Studies

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Results from a metasynthesis of the relationships between 14 different types of preservice teacher preparation practices and teaching quality, preschool to university student performance, and university student and beginning teacher belief appraisals are reported. Each type of preservice practice (e.g., course-based student learning) included different kinds of instructional methods (e.g., problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and project-based learning). The metasynthesis included 118 meta-analyses and 12 surveys of more than three million study participants. Findings clearly indicated that active university student and beginning teacher involvement in mastering the use of instructional practices and both knowledge and skill acquisition by far stood out as the most important preservice teacher preparation practices. These included extended student teaching experiences, simulated instructional practices and microteaching, faculty coaching and mentoring, clinical supervision, different types of cooperative learning practices, and course-based active student learning methods. The pattern of results helped identify high leverage and high impact teacher preparation practices. Implications for future research and improving teacher preparation are described.

show abstract

“…Comparing the effectiveness of interventions across these areas on the basis of relative average effect size is not a valid form of argumentation. Schneider and Preckel (2017) rank (among many other meta-analyses) averaged effect sizes from a set of studies for intelligent learning systems (d = 0.35;Steenbergen-Hu & Cooper, 2014) with that for testing aids (d = 0.34; Larwin et al, 2013). To argue, then, that these types of intervention are about equally effective because the effect sizes are close requires that the other elements which impact on effect size (test, comparison treatment and sample) are distributed in the same way in each set.…”

Section: A Simpsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are not: take one component, the distribution of comparison treatments. Steenbergen-Hu and Cooper (2014) include studies with a wide variety of comparison activity (as noted above, from comparing to human tutoring, through to not teaching the topic at all), while Larwin et al (2013) include only studies where the comparison treatment involves no testing aids at all. These cannot be described as studies with the same distribution of comparison treatments.…”

Section: A Simpsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Princesses are bigger than elephants: Effect size as a category error in evidence‐based education

Simpson

2018

British Educational Res J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Much of the evidential basis for recent policy decisions is grounded in effect size: the standardised mean difference in outcome scores between a study's intervention and comparison groups. This is interpreted as measuring educational influence, importance or effectiveness of the intervention. This article shows this is a category error at two levels. At the individual study level, the intervention plays only a partial role in effect size, so treating effect size as a measure of the intervention is a mistake. At the meta‐analytic level, the assumptions needed for a valid comparison of the relative effectiveness of interventions on the basis of relative effect size are absurd. While effect size continues to have a role in research design, as a measure of the clarity of a study, policy makers should recognise the lack of a valid role for it in practical decision‐making.

show abstract

Assessing the Impact of Testing Aids on Post-Secondary Student Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Accountancy students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effect of open-book assessments on writing examinations

Accountancy students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the effect of open-book assessments on writing examinations

Metasynthesis of Preservice Professional Preparation and Teacher Education Research Studies

Princesses are bigger than elephants: Effect size as a category error in evidence‐based education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About