Intermediate microeconomics: 1.5 year follow-up.

The vast majority of research on student learning is based on assessments of student knowledge given during or at the end of an academic term. Until now, we have known very little about what knowledge students retain after a course is over or what determines how much they retain. In this paper, we analyze data collected from students who took one of six courses in introductory or intermediate microeconomics. All students in these courses took a low-stakes standard assessment of their learning at the end of the term. At follow-ups, one to 2.5 years later, these students were surveyed about their academic and job-related activities, and given the same assessment they took at the end of the course. We find that some demographic characteristics and prior preparation for the course are strong predictors of how much students retain while initial attitudes toward economics are not. We also find evidence that for some students, application of economic skills in subsequent jobs and courses helps students retain course skills.当前绝大多数学生学习领域的研究，均以学期中或学期末开展的学生知识掌握程度测评为基础。迄今为止，学界对课程结课后学生留存了哪些知识、以及哪些因素决定其知识留存量的认知仍极为有限。本研究针对修读六门入门或中级微观经济学课程之一的学生所采集的数据展开分析：所有修读上述课程的学生均在学期末完成了一项低风险标准化学习测评；在课程结束后的1至2.5年随访阶段，研究人员针对这些学生的学业与职场相关活动开展问卷调查，并让他们重新完成结课时的同款测评。研究发现，部分人口统计学特征与课程前置准备情况可显著预测学生的知识留存量，而学生最初对经济学的学习态度则无此预测效果。此外，本研究还证实，部分学生在后续职场与课程中对经济学技能的应用，有助于其留存课程所学的相关技能。