ERIC Number: EJ1459003
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0266-4909
EISSN: EISSN-1365-2729
The Impact of Frequency and Stakes of Formative Assessment on Student Achievement in Higher Education: A Learning Analytics Study
Okan Bulut; Guher Gorgun; Seyma Nur Yildirim-Erbasli
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, v41 n1 e13087 2025
Background: Research shows that how formative assessments are operationalized plays a crucial role in shaping their engagement with formative assessments, thereby impacting their effectiveness in predicting academic achievement. Mandatory assessments can ensure consistent student participation, leading to better tracking of learning progress. Optional assessments may encourage voluntary engagement, potentially leading to a more genuine reflection of student understanding. Also, frequent assessments provide continuous opportunities for feedback and adjustment, which can keep students actively engaged in the learning process. Objectives: This study aims to investigate two crucial facets of formative assessments: frequency and the level of stakes involved (mandatory vs. optional). We examine how modifying the frequency of formative assessments affects students' course performance. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of mandatory versus optional formative assessments on students' course performance in higher education. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of undergraduate students (n = 336) enrolled in three sections of a large asynchronous course at a Canadian university. We extracted features associated with online formative assessments (e.g., the number of attempts and average scores) from the learning management system. Next, we used these features to predict students' performance in summative assessments (two midterms and a final exam). Results and Conclusions: Our findings indicated that increasing the frequency of online formative assessments did not consistently improve student performance. Also, participation frequency in online formative assessments seemed to vary depending on assessment stakes (i.e., optional vs. mandatory). We recommend that instructors examine what conditions can maximize the contribution of formative assessments to students' academic achievement before building predictive models.
Descriptors: Formative Evaluation, Academic Achievement, Student Participation, Learning Processes, Incidence, Repetition, Undergraduate Students, Universities, Asynchronous Communication, Foreign Countries, Online Courses, Predictor Variables, Summative Evaluation, Tests, Electronic Learning, Evaluation Methods
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A