[Saltassessmentworkinggroup] Status on Scholarship Projectsinvolving student learning assessments

[Andi Curcio]

Along with a colleague from the business school I have completed a study on the impact of formative assessments on Evidence students' [Fall semester 2Ls]  final exam scores.  Our article about the study and its results has been accepted by the Journal of Legal Ed.  Below is the abstract we sent along with the article. 
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ABSTRACT

Much has been written about the need to move from a single end-of-semester law school exam to a formative assessment system that gives students on-going feedback.  However, few have examined whether this kind of feedback has a verifiable advantage for law students. This study demonstrates that formative assessments can be implemented with minimal professorial time and effort and that the on-going feedback these assessments provide produces a quantifiable difference in law student final exam performance.  Using a short essay/short answer exam format, the study discusses how a series of un-graded quizzes and a graded mid-term, all accompanied by model answers, grading rubrics and self-reflective exercises, resulted in a significant final exam performance score increase for 70% of the students receiving the feedback interventions in a large-section required second-year Evidence course. 
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Those on this list might be interested in the fact that our results are similar to what colleagues and I found in an earlier study with first year students and an essay exam format -  LSAT score & UGPA factored into whether students derived a benefit from the formative assessments.  In the earlier study, the benefit only inured to those with above-the-median LSAT scores or UGPAs.  In this study, the benefit reached approximately 70% of the students - again those with the top 70% of LSAT scores & UGPAs.  However, this study involved second year students and we also had LGPA [law school grade point average].  Interestingly,  because LSAT score and UPGA did not correlate with LGPA, we found that some students with below the median LGPA also benefited from the practice exams & mid-term & accompanying feedback. 

BTW, my collaborator, Carol Sargent, is one of the potential social science collaborators on the SALT list.  She's a crackerjack and if others need a social science collaborator, I'd highly recommend getting in touch with her.

Thanks to Hazel for getting the discussion going.  If others have done or are considering doing studies about various assessments, please use this list as a sounding board.

Hope all have had a great summer.

Take care,

Andi

>>> "Hazel Weiser" <hweiser at saltlaw.org> 07/30/10 11:14 AM >>>
We hope that everyone's summer is that perfect combination of relaxing and
productive!  SALT is interested in finding out what projects are moving
forward involving student learning assessments.  Who is working on these
issues?  How far have you gotten?  Has anyone drafted a piece for peer
review?  Has anyone published?  Please let me know if there has been some
progress.  The Standards Review Committee, as you might know, has been
dealing with these issues.  

 

Thank you.  

 

Hazel Weiser, Executive Director

Society of American Law Teachers -- SALT

Public Advocacy Center, Room 223

Touro Law Center

225 Eastview Drive

Central Islip, NY 11722

hweiser at saltlaw.org

631.650.2310

 

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