Effect of feedback on student attitudes

We sought to determine the change in student attitude toward a testing program when the students used a self-assessment test and were given computer-generated feedback. Ninety-four junior dental students at one school were placed in two groups and surveyed about their attitudes toward the testing program of the Department of Operative Dentistry and themselves as operative dentists. A semantic differential instrument and Likert-scale questions were used. One week later, the students in the experimental group participated in a self-assessment and three weeks later received individual, computer-generated feedback. Both groups were surveyed again at this time. Students in the experimental group exhibited a significant improvement in attitude toward the department's testing program but not toward themselves as operative dentists. The control group showed no significant change in attitude toward either concept.