Crib Card Use During Tests: Helpful or a Crutch?

The authors experimentally investigated the effect of crib cards on exam performance and student learning. Fifty-one students expected to use their prepared crib cards during an exam. However, they first completed an unexpected pretest without their crib card. Students performed significantly worse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching of Psychology 2011-04, Vol.38 (2), p.114-117
Main Authors: Funk, Steven C., Dickson, K. Laurie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Educational psychology
Expectations
Investigations
Learning
Multiple Choice Tests
Pretests Posttests
Student Attitudes
Students
Teacher Supervision
Tests
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:The authors experimentally investigated the effect of crib cards on exam performance and student learning. Fifty-one students expected to use their prepared crib cards during an exam. However, they first completed an unexpected pretest without their crib card. Students performed significantly worse on the pretest than on identical questions when crib cards were allowed during the exam. Students prepared for a later exam by making a crib card but expected that they could not use it during testing. Following the exam, they completed an unexpected posttest containing identical questions with their crib cards. Performance did not differ. Students' expectations of crib card use fostered dependency and reduced learning, while expectations of non-use did not.
ISSN:0098-6283
1532-8023
DOI:10.1177/0098628311401584