Introductory physics during COVID-19 remote instruction: gender gaps in exams are eliminated, but test anxiety and self-efficacy still predict success

Abstract

We investigate differences in psychological constructs and learning outcomes between students in introductory physics courses who took remote classes during COVID and those who took in-person classes. We first investigated mean differences in students’ self-efficacy, test anxiety, and learning outcomes in two categories: low-stakes (homework, quizzes) and high-stakes (exams) assessments. We found that most differences were small or moderate, however; students performed drastically better on exams during remote classes compared to in-person classes. This may be partially attributed to different exam formats during remote versus in-person classes. Gender differences in high-stakes assessment grades were also eliminated during remote instruction. From these results, we make several suggestions for instructors that may alleviate the adverse effects of test anxiety and make physics assessments more equitable and inclusive.