Practice points from active-learning exercises did not inflate final grades; exam points remained the primary determinant of course grade¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2011 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Even in the most highly structured course versions, total exam points explained 89% of the total variation in final grade, and analysis of deviance showed no significant variation across quarters in how well exam points predicted grade. → Freeman Scott 2011

Evidence¶

Freeman Scott 2011¶

Freeman Scott, Haak David, Wenderoth Mary Pat. (2011). Increased Course Structure Improves Performance in Introductory Biology. CBE—Life Sciences Education. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0105

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Linear regressions of total exam points on final grade in each quarter, tested via analysis of deviance in a GLM with binomial error. The exam-points-only model was not improved by adding quarter (χ2 p = 0.6274) or an interaction (p = 0.9708), supporting the conclusion that grades were "not inflate[d]" by practice points.

"R2 values indicate that, even in the most highly structured versions of the course, when exam points represented as little as 55% of the total course points, total exam points still explained 89% of the total variation in final grade (Table 4a)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Class size, course level, and discipline did not explain significant variation in how achievement gaps changed under active learning — related
• LMS activity contributes only modestly to explained variance in exam grades, and gender-by-LMS interactions add no explained variance in any course — related
• Gender differences in assessment points earned remained small but statistically significant after controlling for math course type and level — related
• Young women outperformed young men in every grading category family in unweighted points, with the largest gap in assignments and smallest in assessments; weighting reversed this ordering — related
• Women score lower than men in high-stakes final exams across advanced undergraduate STEM courses, with mean differences of 2.5 to ~7 points on a 100-point scale — related