International Journal of Social Science & Economic Research
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Title:
DO YOU WANT TO RAISE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? THEN, ASSESS AND REMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE, NOT PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE

Authors:
John Leddo and Mahnoor Ahmad

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John Leddo and Mahnoor Ahmad
MyEdMaster, LLC

MLA 8
Leddo, John, and Mahnoor Ahmad. "DO YOU WANT TO RAISE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? THEN, ASSESS AND REMEDIATE KNOWLEDGE, NOT PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE." Int. j. of Social Science and Econom

References

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ABSTRACT:
A widespread practice in education is to give students problems to solve, ask them to show their work and, when they make mistakes, show them the correct way to solve the problem to arrive at the right answer. This approach is consistent with the precepts of Classical Test Theory, which operationalizes learning in terms of the number of correct answers given to problems. The present paper challenges this approach by comparing it to an alternative that assesses what subject matter knowledge students have using a methodology called Cognitive Structure Analysis (CSA) and remediating any knowledge gaps. A study was conducted with Algebra 2 students in which students were initially either given problems to solve and feedback in the form of being shown correct step-by-step solutions to the problems or had their concept knowledge assessed using CSA and then provided feedback to remediate any knowledge deficiencies they had. All students were then given a 20-question problem-solving post-test. Results showed that while students given step-by-step feedback did raise their performance in the post-test, students given knowledge concept feedback scored, on average, 10 points higher on the post-test than did students given step-by-step feedback. Results suggest that assessing and remediating concept knowledge may provide a quick, cheap, and easy way to improve academic performance compared to the traditional assessment and remediation approach of emphasizing correct solutions to problems.

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