The effects of second-chance testing on learning outcomes in a first-year STEM course in engineering

Students entering college in an engineering discipline often struggle in their first semesters. While the reasons for their difficulties may vary, it is often the course assessments (quizzes and exams) that serve as the first “wake-up call.” Many under-performing students are suddenly convinced to reassess their approach to college-level studies. In our large (N > 400) first-year engineering course at the University of Illinois, we have decided to leverage this motivation in a timely manner. Each midterm exam assessment is immediately followed by an opportunity for mastery improvement. Successful completion of that exercise allows for a second-chance test to be taken. We have found that our variety of second-chance testing promotes student learning and improved mastery of the course learning objectives.

In our study, we will look at the mode of mastery improvement exercises and methods for attracting students to these activities. We will discuss our methodology in second-chance testing while providing the rationale for our choices. We follow this with a statistical analysis of the assessment scores and demonstrate the desired effects of second-chance testing as witnessed on the final exam.