Test Format and Calculator Use in the Testing of Basic Math Skills for Principles of Economics: Experimental Evidence

Irene Foster () and Melanie Fennell
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Melanie Fennell: Randolph-Macon College

Working Papers from The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy

Abstract: Results from an experiment in Fall 2013 of 902 incoming students at this university are reported. In this experiment, after students were given a basic math assessment to ensure they had the necessary math skills to take a principles of economics course, they were randomly allocated to a treatment or control group to test if there was a significant impact of test format, calculator use, and calculator type on students' scores. The interaction of calculator use/type and test format was also tested. The results from this experiment suggest that each treatment had a significant positive impact on students' assessment scores, with much variation depending on the type of question asked and the level of performance.

Keywords: Economic Education; Teaching Economics; Math Assessment; Microeconomics; Calculator Use; Test Format (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 C23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-fle
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http://www2.gwu.edu/~iiep/assets/docs/papers/2020WP/FosterIIEP2020-20.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Test Format and Calculator Use in the Testing of Basic Math Skills for Principles of Economics: Experimental Evidence (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2020-20

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