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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2009  > June  >
Research: Science and Education
Using the First Exam for Student Placement in Beginning Chemistry Courses
Pamela Mills and William Sweeney
Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, New York, NY 10021
Department of Urban Education, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10065

Sarah M. Bonner
Department of Educational Foundations and Counseling Programs, Hunter College, New York, NY 10065

Cover
June 2009
Vol. 86 No. 6
p. 738
Abstract
The first exam in a typical first-semester general chemistry course is used to identify students at risk of failing the course. The performance at Hunter College of 667 students on the first exam in general chemistry in seven different classes between fall 2000 and fall 2005 was correlated with the students' final score in the course. The correlation between the first exam score and the final course performance exclusive of the first exam was 0.73, a correlation coefficient (Pearson r value) higher than any commercially available diagnostic test. Logistic regression was performed on the same data set to generate a probability of success metric. Such an analysis can be used for student advising or placement. Similar results were found for eight first-semester general chemistry classes run at three other CUNY four-year colleges and at a large midwestern university, demonstrating the robustness of the correlation between the first exam and final course performance.
More Information
*
Citation
Mills, Pamela; Sweeney, William; Bonner, Sarah M. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 738.
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Keywords
Chemical Education Research; First-Year Undergraduate / General; Learning Theories; Student / Career Counseling; Testing / Assessment
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
4/20/2009
4/24/2009
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