Practice (Rather Than Graded) Quizzes, With Answers, May Increase Introductory Psychology Exam Performance

The authors investigated whether practice (or graded) quizzes, with or without provision of correct answers, would be more beneficial for introductory psychology exam performance. In six sections (N = 249) of an introductory psychology class, taught by the same professor, different approaches to quizzes were applied across sections to measure effect on exam performance. Findings showed that compared to other conditions, students performed significantly better on exams with practice rather than graded quizzes but only when correct answers to the quizzes were provided. It may be that practice quizzes help facilitate students' intrinsic motivation.