Use of weekly quizzes in a graduate-level physiology course does not enhance student learning but may help regulate study time

Weekly quizzes are a popular method to assess student learning. Their use may increase knowledge retention via the testing effect and encourage spaced rather than massed study habits. We sought to understand the effects of weekly quizzes in a graduate-level systems physiology course. This study encompasses two academic years, 2018-2019 (Year 1, n=27) and 2019-2020 (Year 2, n=28). Four independent course units were utilized, with weekly quizzes and an end-of-unit summative exam administered during two units and just an end-of-unit exam administered during the other two units. Quizzes consisted of lower-level questions (remember, understand) while exams contained higher-level questions (apply, analyze). When weekly quizzes were not administered, lower-level questions were added to the unit exam. Identical quiz and exam questions were used for both years of the study. Treatments were reversed between Year 1 and Year 2 to account for variations in unit difficulty (Table 1). Study time was tracked via weekly student surveys. We observed a difference in quiz and exam scores between units; however, there were no differences from Year 1 and Year 2 within units. Overall weekly and non-exam week study time differed across units in Year 1, with increased study time in the first unit with quizzes. This same effect was not observed in Year 2. Between years, overall weekly and non-exam week study time was greater when quizzes were administered but only for the first unit of the year. No differences were observed between units or years in exam week study time. In both Year 1 and Year 2, hours studied per week correlated strongly with exam administration (r > 0.9) but not with quiz administration (r < 0.2). Overall, these data suggest that weekly quizzes may not enhance academic performance. They may help regulate weekly study time, but do not prevent "cramming'" before exams.