Students' performance on makeup examinations and other evaluations.

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Academic Performance Analysis

Background:

• Student attendance and examination performance are key indicators of academic success.
• Understanding the impact of missed examinations is crucial for educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the academic consequences of students missing required examinations in psychology courses.
• To compare the performance of students who missed examinations versus those who did not.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted, one in a lower-division and one in an upper-division psychology course.
• Data collected included test scores, quiz scores, comprehensive final test scores, attendance records, and makeup examination scores.

Main Results:

• Students missing required examinations consistently scored lower across all measured academic metrics compared to students who attended.
• In the upper-division course, students who missed exams also performed worse on makeup exams than on their original required exams.

Conclusions:

• Missing required examinations significantly hinders student academic achievement in psychology courses.
• The negative impact extends to makeup examinations, suggesting broader implications for student engagement and learning.