Measuring Student Learning in Social Statistics

This study used a pretest-posttest design to measure student learning in undergraduate statistics. Data were derived from 185 students enrolled in six different sections of a social statistics course taught over a seven-year period by the same sociology instructor. The pretest-posttest instrument reveals statistically significant gains in knowledge for each course section and all sections combined. The results demonstrate that pretests can establish students’ prior knowledge at the beginning of the semester, while posttests measure learning at the end of the course. Namely, pretest-posttest knowledge gain was influenced more by the content and presentation of the social statistics course than by students’ statistical ability and/or test-taking skills prior to the class. Recommendations on the use of pretest-posttest data to inform pedagogy in social statistics are included in the discussion.