Long-Term Learning, Achievement Tests, and Learner Centered Instruction.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of achievement tests to measure long-term learning at the higher education level in traditional verses learner-centered classrooms. Volunteer instructors who use comprehensive achievement tests as an important component of their grading system were asked to complete an instrument that measures the level of the learner-centered approach of the instructor. Their students were asked to volunteer to retake the course's final test one semester later. As expected, although a decline in performance was observed for both groups, the decline for the low learner-centered group was much sharper.