The use of online quizzes in an introductory tax course.

• Author: Fisher, Dann G.

Instructors can use a series of online quizzes to help students master the material as it is presented in the classroom and to identify gaps in their knowledge.

A few decades ago, it was common to use exams as the single measure of performance in an introductory taxation course. Median scores in the mid-60s on these exams were not uncommon, results that were depressing and frustrating for students and professors. Although students were assigned reading and homework assignments, not all of them kept current with this work if it was not graded. Cramming for exams was commonplace. Questions asked in fits of desperation moments before exams generally foretold poor performance, which contributed to a sense of hopelessness. A pedagogical and cultural change was badly needed.

Through the years, tax return preparation projects were added, and in-class group projects were attempted long before the phrase "flipping the classroom" became widespread (see Franklin, "Flipping the Tax Classroom for a Better Student Learning Experience," 46 The Tax Adviser 852 (November 2015)). In addition, as a means of improving preparation for class meetings, instructors started collecting homework assignments from a random selection of students each class period. Although the latter helped improve students' preparation for class to a degree, some students took advantage of the lottery system, gambling that they would not be selected. Moreover, this system did not allow for immediate feedback and could not be used to plan the current class period's discussion. Yet, homework graded merely for satisfactory effort, selected at random intervals--a very noisy measure of effort--often correlated highly with exam results. Exam results were better than before these changes were implemented, but most of the improvement was achieved by high or above-average achievers. These students likely already had good habits and were merely being rewarded for them. Average students failed to share in the improvement. Too many students viewed homework as a busy-work task.

Measurable improvement finally came when homework was replaced with online quizzes--both pre-quizzes (before classroom coverage of a topic) and post-quizzes (after classroom coverage). The online quizzes make every student accountable for each class meeting, encourage distributed practice (as opposed to cramming) that allows for reflection and correcting errors, inform instructional decisions, and allow the professor...