Cheat sheet type was not significantly associated with exam performance on either exam, though a moderate non-significant trend favoured self-created sheets on the final¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1 · q3 · i1–i2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 No significant midterm performance difference between instructor-provided (mean = 91.7) and self-created (mean = 92.7) users. → Helen Weixu Chen 2026 q3 i2 A non-significant final-exam trend showed higher average scores for self-created (mean = 69.5) versus instructor-provided (mean = 61.8) users. → Helen Weixu Chen 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Helen Weixu Chen 2026¶

Helen Weixu Chen, Victoria Sakhnini, and Lesley Istead. (2026). Make or Take: How Students Navigate Self-Created and Instructor-Provided Cheat Sheets. ACM Trans. Comput. Educ. https://doi.org/10.1145/3834566

q3 · i1 · associational · r1

Independent samples t-test comparing midterm grades by cheat sheet type found no significant difference; printed Cohen's d was −0.25. Equivalence was not tested.

"For the midterm, there was no significant difference in performance between instructor-provided cheat sheet users (mean = 91.7) and self-created cheat sheet users (mean = 92.7), where𝑡=− 0.76,𝑝= 0.46,𝐶𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑛′𝑠𝑑=− 0.25."

Helen Weixu Chen 2026 (2)¶

Helen Weixu Chen, Victoria Sakhnini, and Lesley Istead. (2026). Make or Take: How Students Navigate Self-Created and Instructor-Provided Cheat Sheets. ACM Trans. Comput. Educ. https://doi.org/10.1145/3834566

q3 · i2 · associational · r1

The final-exam t-test did not reach significance, but the article reports a printed Cohen's d of −0.63, a moderate effect, with self-created users averaging 69.5 versus 61.8.

"For the final exam, while not statistically significant, a trend emerged showing higher average scores for self-created cheat sheet users (mean = 69.5) compared to those who used instructor-provided cheat sheets (mean = 61.8), where𝑡=− 1.65,𝑝= 0.13,𝐶𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑛′𝑠𝑑=− 0.63."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Should learners take a cheat sheet or notes into the final, and does making their own sheet help? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 4 narrower claims that bear on it: 2 distinct studies (1 associational, 1 review), q2–q3, 1 of 2 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Self-created cheat sheet users reported significantly longer midterm preparation time than instructor-provided users, but the difference was not significant for the final exam — related
• Students using self-created cheat sheets reported greater perceived coverage of needed final exam content than instructor-provided users — related
• High- and low-performing students did not differ significantly on the midterm-exam ENA network dimensions despite detected network differences — related
• High- and low-performing students differed significantly on the final-exam ENA network X dimension but not the Y dimension — related
• Most participants reported that cheat sheets boosted their confidence and efficiency during exams — related
• Preferences for instructor-provided sheets were grounded in trust, alignment and efficiency, while self-created preferences reflected personalization, control and studying through creation — related