A study of knowledge retention in introductory programming courses

Abstract

In this paper, we explore knowledge retention of students across introductory programming courses. Specifically, we focus on how much knowledge is retained from a CS1 course when entering a CS2 course. As part of this project, we assess students' knowledge of CS1 topics at the end of CS1 and at the beginning of CS2. We find a significant lack of retention of core concepts. We also discuss how lapse in time between taking CS1 and CS2 affects knowledge retention. Not surprisingly, we find that students taking a larger hiatus between courses retain significantly less knowledge than those with a shorter one. We believe our findings are valuable in developing computer science programs whose course sequences and course prerequisites position students for success, thus improving the overall engagement, learning, and retention of students.