STATISTICS STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND ANXIETY: COMPARISONS IN COURSE DELIVERY AND STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The statistics education community continues to explore the differences in performance outcomes and in student attitudes between online and face-to-face delivery methods of statistics courses. In this quasi-experimental study student persistence, exam, quiz, and homework scores were compared between delivery methods, class status, and programs of study for students enrolled in an undergraduate introductory statistics course. Student persistence and homework grades were significantly different for course delivery method. Anxiety levels, measured using the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS), were compared between delivery methods, programs of study, and gender. One anxiety subscale—Test & Class Anxiety—was significantly different between delivery methods and genders. Implications and suggestions for further study are offered based on the study results.

First published May 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives