Seeing your rank in a small league cut last-minute study, mostly for weaker students
Who it’s about: Students
- Mixed
Against goals alone, seeing their league rank meant students put off logins less, mostly weak ones; top students didn't change.
- Rule: Compete or compare with otherstested
- Action: Do a short study sessionused
- Rule: Get feedback on your progressused
Randomised trial of 890 first-year economics students in Australia · vs students who saw goals but no ranking · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show
- No difference
Seeing goals for the next league, with no ranks, worked no better than seeing points alone.
Randomised trial of 890 first-year economics students in Australia · vs students who saw only their points · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show
The study
Who took part
890 first-year students in an economics course at a university in Australia, about 20 on average. They were not picked for putting things off.
What they did
For one term, students did online practice questions for points. They were put in leagues of 30. One group saw only their points. A second group also saw goals and the points they needed for the next league. A third group also saw how they ranked against the rest of their league.
What happened
Students who saw their rank logged in less at the last minute than those who saw goals only. This showed from week 10, and from week 5 for the weakest students. The top students did not change on the course site, though the paper's summary says they did. Goals alone made no clear difference against points only. The paper gives no sizes for any result.
Source
Can leagues mitigate the demoralization effect of rank feedback? A randomized controlled trial (2024)
DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102602 (opens in a new tab)
