A Large-Scale Observational Study on Obtaining Lightweight, Randomized Weekly Student Feedback

2026-05-04

AI Summary

This study addresses the decline in student engagement and feedback quality often caused by frequent survey requests in traditional course evaluation systems. It proposes a lightweight, randomized weekly feedback approach—termed HRCF—that balances timeliness and depth by administering brief questionnaires to each student during randomly selected weeks. Evaluated over four years across 103 courses and 24,216 students in authentic large-scale teaching settings, regression analyses reveal that sustained implementation of HRCF for one semester yields an average increase of 0.045–0.048 points in learning-related end-of-term evaluation scores for small- to medium-sized courses. However, no statistically significant effects were observed for large-enrollment courses or metrics related to instructional organization.

Abstract

Conventional methods of obtaining student feedback on course experience face a fundamental tradeoff between feedback frequency and quality: as feedback requests become more frequent, participation often declines, and responses become less thoughtful over time. To obtain both timely and thoughtful feedback from students, Kim and Piech (Learning at Scale, 2023) recently proposed a simple, lightweight course feedback mechanism: surveying each student a small number of times per term during randomly selected weeks. Named High-Resolution Course Feedback (HRCF), this method has been shown to elicit feedback that instructors find helpful without imposing excessive burden on students. An important question, however, remains unanswered: is the use of this simple method associated with measurable improvements in students' actual course experiences? We study HRCF use across 103 course offerings, totaling 24,216 student enrollments, over four years from Fall 2021 through Fall 2025, spanning 42 unique computer science courses at an R1 institution. Through a regression analysis of four end-of-term student evaluation items for these courses, we find that first-time use of HRCF is not associated with a measurable change in average student ratings. However, among small- and medium-enrollment (<250 students) course offerings, continued HRCF use is associated with average rating increases of 0.045 to 0.048 points per additional term of use for learning-related items. We observe no statistically significant associations for large-enrollment (250 or more students) course offerings, nor for items measuring instructional quality and course organization. Together, these findings suggest that sustained HRCF use may support improvements in students' learning experiences, but that further design enhancements may be needed to produce measurable improvements in instructional quality and course organization.

Problem

• student feedback
• course experience
• feedback quality
• learning experience
• educational evaluation

Innovation

• High-Resolution Course Feedback
• lightweight feedback
• randomized survey
• student experience
• regression analysis