Case Study: SUNY Cortland achieves a 10–12% improvement in student performance with Questionmark mastery quizzes

Mastery quizzes help SUNY Cortland Psychology students improve performance

SUNY Cortland turned to Questionmark when Associate Professor Melvyn King wanted a reliable way to improve Psychology students’ mastery of course material and maintain assessment integrity. Using Questionmark Perception (with Questionmark Secure for kiosk/lockdown delivery), faculty built large item banks and randomized computerized quizzes to ensure students met minimum standards across introductory and upper‑level courses.

Questionmark’s solution—200+ items per chapter, 30‑question mastery quizzes requiring 80% to pass (with unlimited retakes in face‑to‑face courses and 3–5 attempts in online courses), instructor feedback, and the Perception Grade Book Report—helped faculty track and reinforce learning. According to King, students who stayed in the courses saw average grades increase by about 10–12%, while online quizzes now contribute 10–25% of final grades and Secure delivery reduces opportunities for cheating.

SUNY Cortland

Melvyn King

Associate Professor