How Florida State University cut DFW rates in General Chemistry without lowering the bar

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Florida State University

The goal isn’t just getting students to pass. It’s maintaining rigor and helping them actually retain what they learn.

Dr. Stephanie Dillon

Director, Freshman Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

~30% → 6.6%

DFW rate in Dr. Dillon’s General Chemistry course

1,200+

Students entering the course each year

52%

Earned an A in Fall 2023

Florida State University

Public research university

General Chemistry is Florida State’s gateway course to degrees across STEM, with more than 1,200 students entering it each year.

General Chemistry

Results

DFW rates fell from about 30% into the high teens after the classroom was flipped, then below 10% as the model was refined over several years.
In Fall 2023, 52% of students earned an A, 27% a B, 13% a C, and 6.6% received a D, F, or W.
No hard topics were cut. Every topic is still covered, practiced, and assessed.

Dr. Stephanie Dillon has directed Florida State’s freshman chemistry labs since 2002 and teaches large General Chemistry and Biochemistry lectures. She set out to solve one of General Chemistry’s hardest problems: helping more students actually learn the material and successfully complete the course.

She did it without cutting hard topics, easing exams, or curving poor performance. Classavo helped her turn decades of her own course materials into a structured learning experience, and the DFW rate in her course fell from about 30% to 6.6%.

Lectures in small bites

Hour-long lectures became shorter segments with repetition between them. A lecture that once had two or three worked examples now carries far more, with concise explanations, easy and hard examples, and problems students try themselves.

Before: 2–3 worked examples per lecture. Now: 9–15 worked examples per lecture.

Gateways that require engagement

Pre-class videos are gated by questions about that exact segment, so students have to follow along before moving on. Copy-and-paste is blocked inside these interactions, a feature Dillon specifically called out as valuable.

Before: “Watch this before tomorrow.” Now: learn, engage, demonstrate, then move forward.

Practice. Feedback. Repeat.

Class time goes to in-class work with immediate feedback, “pause and try” moments, prerequisite review, and regular look-backs at earlier material.

Every concept comes back, rather than being seen once.

Class time goes to in-class work with immediate feedback, “pause and try” moments, prerequisite review, and regular look-backs at earlier material.

Every concept comes back, rather than being seen once.

More students succeeding without removing the rigor

DFW rates fell from about 30% into the high teens after Dillon flipped the classroom, then below 10% as she kept refining the model over several years. The difficult topics remained. The rigor remained. What changed was the learning experience surrounding them.

Classavo didn’t replace Dr. Dillon’s course. It helped her build more of the course she wanted. She and the Classavo team keep refining explanations, examples, and practice, semester after semester.

“If you can get 90%+ of students through a STEM gateway course the first time, and you’re not just curving grades to make everybody pass, that’s a success story.”

FAQ

Did Florida State make General Chemistry easier?

No. Dr. Dillon didn’t remove hard topics, ease exams, or curve poor performance. What changed was how students encounter and practice the material: shorter lecture segments, gated pre-class videos, and frequent practice with immediate feedback.

Are these results due to Classavo alone?

No. The results reflect Dr. Dillon’s broader course redesign over several years, which included multiple instructional changes. Classavo helped her build and keep refining the structure she wanted, but the outcomes should not be attributed solely to Classavo.

How do the gated pre-class videos work?

Each pre-class video is gated by questions about that exact segment, so students have to follow along before moving on. Copy-and-paste is blocked inside these interactions.

Can this structure work with my own course content?

Yes. Dr. Dillon brings her own expertise, pedagogy, and the General Chemistry materials she has written for decades. Classavo helps shape that content around small bites, more examples, gateways, interactive questions, and practice with feedback, and the course keeps being refined semester after semester.

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