The Frequency of Testing and Its Effects on Exam Scores in a Fundamental Level Baccalaureate Nursing Course PDF Download

Author: Andrea Fowler Sartain
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 93

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Book Description
Nursing faculty are constantly seeking ways in which to improve retention of students' knowledge. Historically, nursing students have been given a few assessments per semester, followed by a comprehensive exam at the conclusion of the course. Utilizing testing as a study tool rather than merely a form of assessment assists students in making the transition from memorization of facts to understanding concepts. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the frequency of testing within a baccalaureate undergraduate nursing course and students' examination scores. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with four cohorts of students enrolled in a fundamentals nursing course. The control group consisted of two cohorts of students who received only unit exams and a comprehensive final. The experimental group was given quizzes in addition to unit exams and a comprehensive final. Students in the experimental group were further assessed to determine if there was a relationship between exam scores and their utilization of quizzing as a study tool. Additionally, one of the quizzing cohorts was provided information on the benefits of the use of quizzing as a study tool. Exam scores were then compared to the quizzing cohort who did not receive this information to determine if there was a relationship between students' knowledge of the potential benefits of testing and final exam scores. When comparing the quizzing and non-quizzing cohorts, quizzing was found to improve both unit and final exam scores. There were no statistically significant differences between students who reported using quizzing as a study tool and those who did not use quizzing as a study tool. There was also no statistically significant difference between the cohort of students who received information regarding the benefits of testing as a study tool and the cohort who did not. These findings indicate quizzing is an effective tool to help improve students' grades, regardless of how the quizzes are utilized by the students.