Does the Number of Hours Studied Affect Exam Performance
2003
Barbarick, K.A. | Ippolito, J.A.
Many college instructors inform their students that they need to spend at least 2 h studying outside of class for every hour of lecture. We decided to determine if the number of hours students studied influenced exam performances in Introductory Soil Science (SC240) at Colorado State University and Soils and Fertilizers (URH125) at Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus (Fort Collins, CO). One hypothesis was that the hours studied would significantly (P < 0.05) affect exam scores as determined by regression models. Our second hypothesis was that ratio of hours studied to lecture hours to achieve a 90% score will be 2.0 (e.g., it will follow the Carnegie Rule). For four SC240 semesters and two URH125 semesters, we asked the students "How many hours did you study for this exam?" on each of the 10 lecture exams given each semester. For each individual and overall exam regression analyses, exponential rise with a no-limit or 50-point (the points possible on each exam) maximum gave a significant (P < 0.05) fit to the data. The r2 values ranged from 0.12 to 0.61. Utilizing regression models, we found that students would have to study from 3.0 to 4.4 h to earn an average score (38-40 points out of 50) and 4.5 to 6.4 h to earn 45 points (90%). The hours studied to receive a 90% exam score to lecture hour ratio ranged from 1.5 to 2.1.
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