Release of short answer questions prior to an exam has a minimal impact on student performance

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which prior knowledge of short answer (SA) questions impacts exam performance in an introductory undergraduate physiology class. This class is taught each semester and covers 12 systems in a 16 week semester. Exams consist of multiple choice (MC) and SA sections. My hypothesis was that SA performance would be enhanced by prior knowledge of SA questions. To test this hypothesis, topics relevant to SA questions were sent to students 24–72 hours prior to exams. Over the course of semester one, this was done for the final two exams (of four). In the subsequent semester it was done for the first two exams, but not the remainder. Supplying students with exam material either slightly increased or did not increase SA scores. Interestingly, MC scores were consistently improved to a greater extent than SA scores. As a result, the overall scores of students receiving information regarding exam material were consistently and significantly improved by approximately 8% when compared to students that did not. The summation of these findings suggests that providing students with exam material prior to exams provides students with a minor advantage. It may also have the added benefit of reducing exam anxiety and improving instructor evaluations while maintaining exam rigor.