A study of student entry behaviors and directed self-placement in an introduction to circuit analysis course

In this work, which is intended to be a Work in Progress Paper in the Research Category, the results of an extensive study which used three-factor and two-factor linear regression models based on prior grade point average, grades in a pre-requisite physics course, and class size is presented. In both models prior GPA was the most significant factor in predicting student success, followed by the grade in a prerequisite physics course. Even though class size was not a significant factor, removing it from the analysis lowered the R² values. The study analyzed 39 sections of an introduction to circuit analysis course from fall 2013 to spring 2018 and examined whether previously published novel treatments or class size (or both) were the reason for increased pass rates. It was found that there were no significant entry behavior differences between those students who enrolled in a traditional course vs. the students enrolled in a directed self-placement course. It was found that the sections that used the directed self-placement policy tended to outperform sections that did not use this policy.