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ERIC Number: EJ1481118
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1557-3060
EISSN: EISSN-1557-3079
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Does Online Testing Make the Grade? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Ann Atwater; Mark Rush; Perihan Saygin
Education Finance and Policy, v20 n3 p457-472 2025
As a result of the increase in online course offerings at colleges and universities, the prevalence of online and computerized examinations has increased over the last two decades. Beyond academia, online examinations have been used to assess competence for certifications by both governments and private firms. Despite this importance, a randomized controlled trial that randomizes individual test takers into online and in-person examinations has not previously been conducted. In this paper, we rectify this by conducting this experiment in a large economics class at a large research university in the American southeast. We supplement our experiment results with a novel methodology of using screening surveys administered to potential volunteers which solicit preference information. We find that online testing reduces examination grades by over a tenth of a standard deviation, relative to in-person assessment. Additional exploratory exercises provide evidence that this effect is driven by students who prefer in-person examinations.
MIT Press. 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: 617-253-2889; Fax: 617-253-1709; e-mail: journals-rights@mit.edu; Web site: http://www.mitpressjournals.org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/loi/edfp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A