Dan Schwarcz
Daniel Schwarcz
Fredrikson & Byron Professor of Law
Distinguished University Teaching Professor

Prof. Schwarcz and Dion Farganis ('17) Receive Media Attention on New Study

A new draft article—co-authored by Professor Daniel Schwarcz and Dion Farganis ('17)—documents through statistically significant evidence that individualized feedback in one first-year doctrinal course improves students’ performance in other first year courses. "The Impact of Individualized Feedback on Law Student Performance" has been covered by numerous media outlets and blogs, including Above The Law, Brian Leiter's Law School Reports, Concurring Opinions, The Faculty Lounge, and Tax Prof Blog, among others. 

Unlike prior research on formative feedback in law schools, the paper exploits a natural experiment, which arises from the random assignment of students to first-year sections and the occasional grouping together of students into "double section" first-year class. The paper finds that, in double section classes, students in sections that have previously or concurrently had a class providing individualized feedback consistently outperform students in sections that have not received any such feedback. It also finds that the advantages of individualized feedback appear to be concentrated among lower-performing students at the Law School.