Investigating the Effects of Testing Frequency on Programming Performance and Students' Behavior

Abstract

We conducted an across-semester quasi-experimental study that compared students' outcomes under frequent and infrequent testing regimens in an introductory computer science course. Students in the frequent testing (4 quizzes and 4 exams) semester outperformed the infrequent testing (1 midterm and 1 final exam) semester by 9.1 to 13.5 percentage points on code writing questions. We complement these performance results with additional data from surveys, interviews, and analysis of textbook behavior. In the surveys, students report a preference for the smaller number of exams, but rated the exams in the frequent testing semester to be both less difficult and less stressful, in spite of the exams containing identical content. In the interviews, students predominantly indicated (1) that the frequent testing regimen encourages better study habits (e.g., more attention to work, less cramming) and leads to better learning, (2) that frequent testing reduces test anxiety, and (3) that the frequent testing regimen was more fair, but these opinions were not universally held. The students' impressions that the frequent testing regimen would lead to better study habits is borne out in our analysis of students' activities in the course's interactive textbook. In the frequent testing semester, students spent more time on textbook readings and appeared to answer textbook questions more earnestly (i.e., less "gaming the system'' by using hints and brute force).