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The impact of exam timing on academic performance: Analyzing grades and passing rates in higher education
Lindy van der Hulst1, Mohammad Reza Amiri2, Lammertjan Dam1
1Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
We study the effect of exam timing on academic performance among Dutch university students. Analyzing 400,055 grades from 24,280 students across seven academic years (2017/2018-2023/2024), we test whether students, in particular younger students, perform worse during morning exams. Additionally, we use the start of the Daylight Saving Time to help identify whether this effect is driven by sleep deprivation. We find evidence that students perform worse during morning exams and in the week following the start of the Daylight Saving Time.
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