Preparing students for success on examinations: Readiness assurance tests in a graduate-level statistics course

Background: Formative feedback is one way to foster students’ readiness for statistics examinations. Method: The use of Readiness Assurance Tests was examined as an educational intervention in which feedback was provided for both correct and incorrect responses in a graduate-level statistics course. Examination scores in the intervention group (n = 56) were compared with those in a control group (n = 42). Results: Intervention group examination scores significantly improved from 75.92 ± 14.52 on the Readiness Assurance Test to 90.06 ± 7.06, p <.001, on the midterm, and final examination scores improved from 78.23 ± 17.29 to 85.6 ± 6.98, p = <.002. Intervention group midterm scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (90.06 ± 7.06 versus 79.7 ± 11.6, p < .001); however, no differences were found between the groups on the final examination (85.35 ± 9.46 versus 85.6 ± 6.98, p =<.91). Conclusion: Use of Readiness Assurance Tests was an effective modality to increase student self-efficacy, learning experience, and, relative to a control group, midterm examination performance in statistics.