Examination experiences. Tests provide important feedback to students, for example, about misconceptions that require additional study. Students perceived that this feedback function is undermined if test results were much delayed.
Effective instructors provide feedback that includes information about methods or strategies to improve comprehension and future test preparation. Feedback, such as ‘‘good work’’ or ‘‘in need of improvement’’ is not very helpful, since it does not inform students about how to improve test performance.
Tests early in the term provide information about future exams and how the exams should be approached, informing students about test format, content covered on tests, and the grading of test responses (e.g., degree of detail and elaboration expected by the professor).