iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Cassandra Paul

Linn Boldt-Christmas @nplinnspace.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I always HATED exams because I was really bad at them. In my physics undergrad, I jokingly wished exams had a Q saying ”whatever topic you studied really well but didn’t come up, write what you know here for extra points”. Now that I’m on the other side (teaching at uni), I kind of still think it 🙃

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thanks for the kind words! Thats an interesting idea! I suspect that course grade is a much bigger predictor of retention than blanks, because I don’t think all students think about blank leaving the same way. Perhaps courses with high blank frequencies have lower retention rates. We’ll think on it!

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

We believe this is a contributor, but haven’t yet run the analysis. Stay tuned!

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David Webb @djphysicswebb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

We continue to point out issues suggesting that college courses are an active part of bias against marginalized demographic groups. 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd #AcadmicSky

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New research on open-ended college physics exams! Blank responses from students might not mean what you think! #academicsky #edusky #EducationResearch

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

New research on physics exams! Blank responses may not mean what you think! 🧪

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Possible responses include grading approaches that reduce the impact of blanks (such as retakes, four-point-scale grading, or mastery-based grading) as well as incorporating additional forms of assessment (including presentations, portfolios, or oral exams).

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

For physics instructors, the takeaway is important: if our grading practices heavily penalize blank responses, exams may disadvantage some student groups and may not measure physics understanding equally well across students.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Together, these findings suggest that blank responses may be a course-level assessment issue rather than simply a student characteristic.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

4) Blank-response rates vary substantially across course sections. Students who leave blanks in one course are not necessarily likely to do so in the next course in the sequence.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

3) The pattern persists even among students who are doing well in the course, suggesting that it cannot be explained entirely by differences in preparation or physics understanding.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

2) These differences are compounded for students who hold both identities.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This paper builds on our previous work on uncollected test-item responses: open-ended exam problems that students leave blank. We found that: 1) Test items are more likely to be uncollected from first-generation students and students from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

@djphysicswebb.bsky.social, Mary Chessey and I have a newly accepted paper on uncollected test item responses on open-ended physics exam questions! Blank responses on exams are missing data, not measurements of physics knowledge or skills. Read on for details... Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2606.05473

arxiv.org

Missing Data on Physics Exams: Demographic Patterns, Course-Level Predictions, and Implications for Equity

In a previous quantitative retrospective study we showed that different demographic groups of students leave different numbers of problems blank on physics exams, leading to inequities in course outco...

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David Webb @djphysicswebb.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

@cassandrapaul.bsky.social and I show that employing undergraduate Learning Assistants in introductory courses may help smooth many students' paths through the university and increase STEM graduation rates. arxiv.org/pdf/2607.27006 🎢 #EduSky 🍎 #academia #HigherEd #AcadmicSky

arxiv.org

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

The 2026 National Science Foundation budget is $8.75 Billion.

nytimes.com

First 6 Days of Iran War Cost U.S. $11.3 Billion, Pentagon Says

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

This is also happening in San Jose.

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Reposted by Cassandra Paul

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 27/02/2026

In my utopian vision of the future, instead of offloading all the pointless, annoying work tasks (like reports that none one will read and needlessly opaque forms) to robots, we restructure work and society so that the pointless tasks don't happen at all.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 12/02/2026

You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Across America and the world, people are realizing it’s not possible to appease America’s dictator. The only way to deal with him is to stand up to him — and the only way to stand up to him is by joining together against him. It's time for a massive general strike across the country.

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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 25/01/2026

A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.

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Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

No science or nature today. ICE just murdered another person in my home state, an ICU nurse working with vets & now they're trying to frame him for the action . All because ICE is angry & afraid of the 50000 Minnesotans who marched yesterday. If you're not calling Congress you're letting them down

he main phone number for the U.S. Congressional Switchboard, a central point to reach Senators and Representatives, is (202) 224-3121, allowing you to connect with your elected officials to discuss issues, find their offices, or get general Capitol Hill information. You can also find direct contact information and legislative details on official sites like House.gov and Congress.gov to communicate with your specific Representative or Senator about bills and concerns

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Katie Wilkinson @drkwilkinson.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Tip for Californians- @padilla.senate.gov doesn’t allow VM at his DC office during non business hours (which seriously??) but you can leave a message at a local office. Neither CA Senators ever have people answering the phones in my experience at any office even during business hours.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Thank you for your thoughtful guidance through this process! ❤️

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AAPTHQ @aapthq.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The San José State Physics and Astronomy Department has earned a Bronze Award from the #Physics and #Astronomy SEA Change Committee (P/A SEA Change) for its work to create a more inclusive and supportive department. Read more ➡ ow.ly/23Ru50XX3cG #PASEAChange #ITeachPhysics

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Minnesota needs ICE to leave, not an escalation that brings additional federal troops beyond the 3,000 already here. My priority is keeping local law enforcement focused on public safety, not diverted by federal overreach. www.kare11.com/mobile/artic...

kare11.com

Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act, send troops into Minneapolis over anti-ICE protests

President Donald Trump threatened to "institute the Insurrection Act" in Minneapolis Thursday morning to quell protests in opposition to immigration enforcement.

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Rep. Ro Khanna @khanna.house.gov · 14/01/2026

No one in America is safe from ICE. They are taking our freedoms. ICE agents who are committing crimes must be prosecuted.

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Rep. Zoe Lofgren @lofgren.house.gov · 14/01/2026

ICE is shooting mothers in the face and breaking down people’s doors without warrants. I won’t support a spending bill that doesn’t rein in Trump’s masked, poorly trained ICE agents terrorizing American citizens.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Increase in productivity since 1979: 87% Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32% Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%. As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.

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Science Magazine @science.org · 03/12/2025

"No one should be made to feel inferior or that they do not belong in science because of their origins." #ScienceWorkingLife scim.ag/48JF6Pg

An illustration of a man standing in water that comes up to his neck surrounded by fish, with text: I dropped out of high school. Now, I’m living my dream as a fish scientist

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

@djphysicswebb.bsky.social , always happy to chat, but if someone told me that my job was option #3, I would quit. 🤷‍♀️

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Reposted by Cassandra Paul

Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Our new research indicates that the gender gap in intro physics is an artifact correlated with the “stakes” associated with physics exams and is therefore NOT due to differences in preparation or understanding. 🧪🧵 #acadmicsky #HigherEd #EduSky #STEMed link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

link.aps.org

High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

This thread illustrates why it’s so important to think about grades and grading from the student perspective.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

In this study, the retake opportunities were built into regular class time. Students who didn’t want to take advantage of the opportunity would just leave class early. Perhaps that makes a difference.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

It’s potentially the same phenomenon, but- If stakes cause anxiety and anxiety causes the gender gap - which thing actually causes the gap? Instructors can control stakes- but they can’t necessarily control anxiety. Exam Stakes are a course structure causing a bias against women. We can change this.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

These 3 independent results can all be explained by the hypothesis that exam stakes introduce a bias (measurement error) against women in intro physics, and that course structures (retake options, or lower stake assessments) can eliminate them. 🫳🎤 link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

link.aps.org

High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Finally, controlling for quiz grades (arguably the best predictor of success on a final exam) did not remove the gender gap on the final exam. Said plainly: for women and men who have the same quiz scores, women would perform lower on the final exam. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

link.aps.org

High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

We did a separate analysis to find if the “stakes” of the exam predicted the gap. We define “high stakes” as exams that count for larger percent of course grade (final exam) “medium stakes” as quizzes, and “low stakes” as first attempt on exam in retake class. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

link.aps.org

High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.

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Cassandra Paul @cassandrapaul.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Furthermore women actually do BETTER than men on the first try of the exam (though not significantly so) so it’s not that women need the extra opportunity to make up for differences in preparation. link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

link.aps.org

High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.

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