Students’ perception of frequent assessments and its relation to motivation and grades in a statistics course: a pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study measures university students' perceptions of graded frequent assessments in an obligatory statistics course using a novel questionnaire. Relations between perceptions of frequent assessments, intrinsic motivation and grades were also investigated. A factor analysis of the questionnaire revealed four factors, which were labelled value, formative function, positive effects and negative effects. The results showed that most students valued graded frequent assessments as a study motivator. A modest number of students experienced positive or negative effects from assessments and grades received. Less than half of the students used the results of frequent assessments in their learning process. The perception of negative effects (lower self-confidence and more stress) negatively mediated the relation between grades and intrinsic motivation. It is argued that communication with students regarding the purpose and benefits of frequent assessments could mitigate these negative effects.

Integrating learners into the assessment process using adaptive comparative judgement with an ipsative approach to identifying competence based gains relative to student ability levels

“…Competencies are broadly defined as an amalgam of cognitive, affective, motivational, volitional, and social dispositions underpinning performance (Shavelson 2013) and are assumed to be multidimensional and discipline specific (Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia et al 2016). While it is of paramount importance to ensure that assessment and evaluation mechanisms are both valid and reliable, these two traits alone are not enough as the structure and nature of assessment can have profound effects on learners (Vaessen et al 2017). The effects of assessment, from both pedagogical and psychological perspectives, are well documented with notable attributes being affected such as the learning process (Hattie and Timperley 2007), assessment related anxiety (Huxham et al 2012), selfesteem (Betts et al 2009), and approaches to learning (Reeves 2006).…”

Effect of PBL implementation on student and teacher perceptions of improvement in 21st century skills

“…Students evaluated positively the different evaluative tasks, and the only weakness they noticed was the role that subjectivity played in some cases. Student perceptions of assessment are influenced by previous experiences; this means that any intervention involving assessment can be perceived in various ways by students, and thus can affect them and their learning process (30). In this study, the student perceptions about assessment had to be considered to help clarify student concerns.…”

Assessment: A Suggested Strategy for Learning Chemical Equilibrium

“…It has been established that inappropriate forms of assessment, for example, measuring factual knowledge when understanding is the learning goal, can push students towards superficial approaches to learning; whereas, high quality assessment with appropriate feedback can encourage students to get involved in the material and use a deep approach to learning [80]. Thus, the adverse impact that assessment has on learning does not mean that under certain conditions assessment holds considerable potential to enhance learning [32].…”

“…Moreover, a regular stoichiometry problem was included in the instrument, as well as a complete process of the answer (with the inclusion of some intentional mistakes). The students were requested to prepare a list of the concepts that were needed to solve the problem (instead of solving the problem), which they considered difficult for learning (a concept which demanded mastery of a large number of subordinate concepts [80]). This could be considered as a strategy for changing the idea about assessment as a result, because the main goal of the instrument was to ask the conditions for solving the problem.…”