Just Give Me a Hint! An Alternative Testing Approach for Simultaneous Assessment and Learning

The Millennial generation has grown up using computers as an essential part of their daily activities. Educators have successfully adapted formative assessments by incorporating Internet resources, gamification and pervasive technology to meet the needs of these students. However, summative assessments have changed very little. Point Barter is an online testing system that incorporates game-like features to equitably assist students in answering test questions. It allows students to dynamically trade test points for hints about the correct answer. This paper presents the results of a study that evaluated Point Barter with two sections of the same course. One section used Point Barter throughout a semester while the other used the standard testing system. Upon completion of the course, all participants took a standardized cumulative final exam. The experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group, indicating that using Point Barter throughout the semester may have led to increased learning.