The Impact of Assessment Policy on Learning: Replacement Exams or Grade Dropping

Instructors often debate the merits of alternate grading policies such as dropping the lowest exam or offering an additional exam to replace the lowest score. To date, there has been little research conducted on the impact of these policies on performance. In this study, the author investigates student performance in intermediate macroeconomics over three semesters at a small Eastern college. In each semester, a different assessment policy was applied: Count all three in-term exams; drop the lowest of three exams; offer an additional exam to replace the lowest in-term exam score. Contrary to previous research and conventional wisdom, the author finds that allowing students to drop their lowest grade improved performance on a cumulative final exam, while offering a replacement test had no significant effects.