Eliminating ANOVA Hand Calculations Predicts Improved Mastery in an Undergraduate Statistics Course

Presumably, most statistics professionals use a software program to perform statistical analyses, yet statistics textbooks and classes commonly teach hand calculations. This study examined whether, in an undergraduate psychology statistics course, hand calculations related to students' conceptual and applied analysis of variance (ANOVA) literacy. Quasi-experimentally, we compared 95 students’ mastery of one-factor between- and within-subjects ANOVAs, using the unit quiz and SPSS data analytics lab, between sections which did and did not include hand calculations. Controlling for GPA, gender, ethnicity, major, age, and math preparation to offset nonrandom assignment to section, eliminating ANOVA hand calculations predicted better performance on the quiz by 8% and on the SPSS lab by 6%. Shifting instructional focus away from hand calculations could enhance students’ conceptual and practical understanding of one-factor ANOVAs. Given time limitations, instructors might forgo teaching ANOVA hand calculations and focus on conceptual information and software applications.