What are Two-Stage Tests Good for? A Synthesis of the Literature

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable Session 6: Student Learning and Development in College and Beyond

Abstract

In a two-stage test, students complete part of a test individually, and another part in groups. Two-stage tests have gained popularity as a way of promoting collaborative learning, encouraging a growth mindset, and using assessment as part of the learning process.

Here we review and synthesize the existing literature on learning gains from two-stage tests (mainly in higher education). We will demonstrate that the current empirical evidence for the benefits of two-stage tests on learning has been overstated (most findings have either not been reliably replicated or are not evidence of learning), but that two-stage tests could be beneficial in ways that most research has not measured. This review thus suggests new ways forward for future scholarship on two-stage tests.

Authors

• Stephen Politzer-Ahles, University of Kansas

• Min Liang, The Education University of Hong Kong