The Impact of Covid-19 on Online Final Exam Scores Among Computer Science Students

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on online final exam scores among Computer Science students. The correlation matrix we used indicates the interrelationships among learning outcomes and student profile, type of classes and student online behaviour. Six courses were taken under consideration: Practical Algorithms, Discrete Mathematics, Software Engineering, Programming, Team Projects and Artificial Intelligence. A total of 4,988 final exam results were examined. After a deep analysis of the literature on the topic, we expected two scenarios. The first scenario constituted a decline in passing grades due to challenges such as: learning platform failures, poor internet connections or poorer quality of lessons due to teachers’ lack of online competence. We hypothesized the second scenario as extraordinary student performance compared to their prior exams, but due to their dishonesty. The results of the study revealed that neither of the scenarios took place. It turned out that the challenges that seemed to be the most difficult ultimately did not matter. The present study finds that there is not a significant difference in the students’ final exam performance between their online and traditional courses. Our strategy as described in this article has demonstrated a smooth transition from traditional to online teaching and assessment in terms of the final assessment.