Matthew Flacche, The Effect of a Student Assessment Instrument in the Performance of

This study was conducted to see if implementation of a self-assessing instrument improved students test scores when compared to no mid-unit assessment at all. The experiment involved basic skills mathematics students from Camden County College in Blackwood, New Jersey. Two Math Skills III (Elementary Algebra) classes, containing a total of 39 students, were included in the study. Both sections of students completed pretests. The students in both classes received similar instruction, however one class (the treatment group) received three weeks of instruction, completed and graded Student Assessment Instruments (SAI's) approximately every other class (during the instruction), and took a unit exam (posttest), while the other class (the control group) received three weeks of instruction and the posttest only. The pretest and posttest were used to perform an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The statistical analysis revealed a significant positive difference in the test performance of the treatment group (F=6.184, p<0.05). The author concluded that teachers should incorporate daily assessment into their classes, and conduct similar experiments to verify and support the significant findings of this study