Eliminating Exams From The Classroom: A Feasibility Study English 1800: Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric By: Jessica Denn

Overview O Introduction O Criteria O Methods O Results O Conclusions O Recommendations

Criteria For Feasibility Study O Even though exams are a quick and easy way to measure a student’s knowledge, are there other methods to measure a student’s knowledge? O Are there ways to completely eliminate test anxiety? O Are exams worth continuing to have if they cause stress and anxiety in a student’s life and can cause health, emotional, and self- confidence problems?

Introduction O Exams are one of the leading causes of stress in a student’s life (Dan et al., 2014) O One-third of U.S. students experience test anxiety (Dan et al., 2014) O A student can cognitively and emotionally influence his or her logical reasoning which can lead to poor testing performance (Jung et al., 2014)

Introduction O Stress and anxiety can lead to health issues O Increased blood pressure and heart rate (Zhang et al., 2011) O Increased risk of heart failure and cardiovascular disease (Gustad et al., 2014) O Increased weight gain (Scott, 2014) O Students have multiple responsibilities and activities (Scott, 2014) O Academic, social, and athletic

Fears causing test anxiety failure rejection from other students negative judgment from other students, teachers, or family members lack of future employment opportunities punishment Dan et al., 2014

Methods O Research was conducted using Hamline University Bush Library’s database, Academic Search Premier O Health and medical articles and websites contributed to the research O A questionnaire was created and distributed to 21 Hamline University students to determine their attitudes towards exams O The results of the questionnaire were analyzed and interpreted

Results O High levels of stress and anxiety can lead to health issues O High levels of stress and anxiety are correlated to low levels of academic success (Basol et al., 2014)

Results O Primary research showed 48% of Hamline students would like to eliminate exams O 76% of the 52% of Hamline students do not know what would replace exams O 66.6% of Hamline Students remember 40% or less of the material they were tested on because it was not meaningful to them after the exam

Results O There are multiple alternatives to measure students’ knowledge and understanding of material O Daily homework assignments O Lab work O Presentations O Individual and group projects O Papers Kantrowitz, 2014

Conclusions O Eliminating exams is feasible O Instructors would need to be more creative in alternative methods of teaching and measuring knowledge O Instructors would need to spend more time in the classroom and with students

Conclusions O Hamline University students experience stress and anxiety from exams O Stress and anxiety is a problem that continues to increase and lead to more problems unless reduced or a solution for elimination is found

Recommendations O More research is recommended O Experiment of a trial run at Hamline University is recommended O Two sections of the same class be used O One section with exams is the control O Other section without exams is the experimental O Results should be analyzed O Students’ health, attitude, self-confidence, and learning should be taken into account when analyzing results