Resumen de Intermediate tests: A successful tool to motivate students in using online formative assessments?

Éliane Blondel, P. Everaert, E. Opdecam

• Previous literature calls for research on how to stimulate students to make more use of additional learning material, as the user rate of it is rather low. In addition, students indicate that more structure in their learning material is needed. Therefore, this study investigates whether intermediate tests are a successful tool to increase students’ participation in the use of online formative assessments (OFA). The first objective is to investigate if intermediate tests stimulate students to start using OFA. The second objective explores if the implementation of intermediate tests has an effect on when students start using the OFA. Third, we assess whether the introduction of intermediate tests encourages students to make more use of OFA. Different measures are included to capture both the intensity of use and the timing of use throughout the semester. The study was set up as a between subjects quasi-experiment, administered in an introductory financial accounting course. Results show that more students use the OFA at least once when intermediate tests are introduced, compared to when no intermediate tests are available. Besides, students start making use of OFA earlier in the semester and make more use of OFA when intermediate tests are implemented. This paper contributes to the practice of accounting education, by illustrating how intermediate tests can stimulate students to make use of OFA and by this prevent procrastination, without creating extensive workload for instructors.