CORRELATIONS AMONG ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES USED IN AN INTRODUCTORY PROGRAMMING COURSE

Abstract

Learning computer programming is often perceived to be a difficult task by novice programming students and there have been several studies into the failure rate of students learning to program. This study explores the correlations between introductory programming students’ ability to program and their theoretical knowledge in computer programming in order to analyze whether or not their performance in written exams are genuine and accurate. A rigorous statistical analysis was conducted with 400 introductory programming students who were randomly selected without considering whether or not they had a good programming background. The findings of the study used inferential statistics in order to define the correlations between students’ practical and theoretical exam results. Additionally, the correlations between students’ department and their exam results were investigated in order to define whether or not students’ departments have an impact on their success in exams.

Keywords

• Introductory programming,computer programming,learning to program,assessment of programming courses

References

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