Preparing Students for Success on Examinations: Readiness Assurance Tests in a Graduate-Level Statistics Course.

Abstract

Formative feedback is one way to foster students' readiness for statistics examinations. The use of Readiness Assurance Tests was examined as an educational intervention in which feedback was provided for both correct and incorrect responses in a graduate-level statistics course. Examination scores in the intervention group (n = 56) were compared with those in a control group (n = 42). Intervention group examination scores significantly improved from 75.92 ± 14.52 on the Readiness Assurance Test to 90.06 ± 7.06, p < .001, on the midterm, and final examination scores improved from 78.23 ± 17.29 to 85.6 ± 6.98, p = .002. Intervention group midterm scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (90.06 ± 7.06 versus 79.7 ± 11.6, p < .001); however, no differences were found between the groups on the final examination (85.35 ± 9.46 versus 85.6 ± 6.98, p = .91). Use of Readiness Assurance Tests was an effective modality to increase student self-efficacy, learning experience, and, relative to a control group, midterm examination performance in statistics.