Will Students Ever Learn Economic Principles? Are They Really That ObTUCE?

Jeffrey Green (), Cliff Stone (), DeVon Yoho () and Abera Zegeye ()
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Jeffrey Green: Department of Economics, Ball State University
Cliff Stone: Department of Economics, Ball State University
DeVon Yoho: Department of Economics, Ball State University
Abera Zegeye: Department of Economics, Ball State University

No 201302, Working Papers from Ball State University, Department of Economics

Abstract: The Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE), created in 1968 and revised in 1981, 1991 and 2007, is widely used to assess students’ understanding of economics principles and for research into teaching methods. In this article, we examine the student scores used to “norm” the TUCE post-tests (taken at the end of the course) to assess their understanding of economic principles from 1968 to 2007. Our analysis yields two general conclusions. First, their understanding is extremely low—more than 70 percent of the students who normed the TUCE post-tests would have earned a D or F on these tests. Second, students’ understanding has declined substantially—the proportion of students who would have earned a D or F has risen from 78 percent in 1968 to 93 percent in 2007.

Keywords: TUCE; student performance in economics principles; economic education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2013-09, Revised 2013-09
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http://econfac.bsu.edu/research/workingpapers/bsuecwp201303green.pdf First version, 2013 (application/pdf)

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