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A comparison of students expected grades and their actual quiz performance

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Conference

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Publication Date

June 22, 2025

Start Date

June 22, 2025

End Date

August 15, 2025

Conference Session

ME Division 15: Grading Practices and Student Performance

Tagged Division

Mechanical Engineering Division (MECH)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--55347

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/55347

Download Count

11

Paper Authors

biography

Erik Hurlen University of Washington

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Dr. Erik Hurlen received his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences (Aerospace Engineering) from the University of California San Diego in 2006. He spent a few years in industry before returning to academia to teach Math, Physics, and Engineering at many community colleges in the San Diego Area. Dr. Hurlen was an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Mississippi from 2014 to 2019. In 2019, Dr. Hurlen returned to San Diego as a Lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department at San Diego State University for the 2019-2020 academic year. He is currently an Associate Teaching Professor in the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington.

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Abstract

Students can sometimes either overestimate or underestimate their abilities. This can be particularly true of higher stakes assessments such as quizzes and exams. Students with lower confidence often struggle with retention and performance and could possibly lose interest in Engineering. This is particularly true of underrepresented students in Engineering and therefore it is crucial to understand any demographic discrepancies that may exist. This paper examines the confidence of students in two second year Engineering classes by having them predict their scores both before and after quizzes and then compares those predictions to their actual performance. This is then broken down by student reported demographic data to support previous research and to determine any new emerging trends. The data suggested that students with lower grades tended to overestimate their performance, while higher achieving students tended to underestimate their abilities. This lower confidence was particularly true for non-male and older students.

Hurlen, E. (2025, June), A comparison of students expected grades and their actual quiz performance Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . 10.18260/1-2--55347

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