Is activity in online quizzes correlated with higher exam marks?

Abstract

Online quizzes are widely used as formative learning exercises. An important innovation is that online activity log data allow direct measurement of student activity in quizzes, such as time taken and number of attempts. It has previously been shown that participation in quizzes increases dramatically when grades are awarded as incentives. Data from six semesters in an introductory economics course show a significant positive correlation between total quiz activity and final exam marks for a given first test mark. This has implications for the prediction of exam aegrotats. While the results don't necessarily imply a causal link between quiz activity and exam marks, they do provide some evidence to indicate such a link.

Keywords:

• online learning
• online quizzes
• formative assessment
• student effort
• economics education