Entry-Level Biology Courses for Majors and Non-Majors: Performance and Assessment

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess students’ performance in entry-level biology courses. The instruments used for this study were pre-post content knowledge tests to address two research questions: 1. Did students’ scores improve from pre-to post- tests and were there differences between cohort one and cohort two on the content knowledge test in Functional and Orgaismal Biology? 2. Did students correctly answer more questions at the three higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy test from pre-to post-tests and were there differences in cohorts on the content knowledge in Functional Biology and Organismal Biology? The results indicated that students’ scores on the content knowledge tests increased from pre-to post- tests and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) between cohort one and cohort two on the content knowledge test in Functional and Orgaismal Biology. Furthermore, the students were able to answer higher order thinking skill questions on the post-test and pre-posttests’ scores difference were statistically significant (p<0.05).