Development of the Concise Data Processing Assessment

The Concise Data Processing Assessment (CDPA) was developed to probe student abilities related to the nature of measurement and uncertainty and to handling data. The diagnostic is a ten question, multiple-choice test that can be used as both a pre-test and post-test. A key component of the developme...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review special topics. Physics education research 2011-01, Vol.7 (1), p.010114-1, Article 010114
Main Authors: Day, James, Bonn, Doug
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Science
Data Processing
Interviews
Item Analysis
Multiple Choice Tests
Physics
Reliability analysis
Science Process Skills
Scores
Statistical tests
Students
Test Construction
Test Items
Test Reliability
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:The Concise Data Processing Assessment (CDPA) was developed to probe student abilities related to the nature of measurement and uncertainty and to handling data. The diagnostic is a ten question, multiple-choice test that can be used as both a pre-test and post-test. A key component of the development process was interviews with students, which were used to both uncover common modes of student thinking and validate item wording. To evaluate the reliability and discriminatory power of this diagnostic, we performed statistical tests focusing on both item analysis (item difficulty index, item discrimination index, and point-biserial coefficient) and on the entire test (test reliability and Ferguson's delta). Scores on the CDPA range from chance (for novices) to about 80% (for experts), indicating that it possesses good dynamic range. Overall, the results indicate that the CDPA is a reliable assessment tool for measuring targeted abilities in undergraduate physics students. (Contains 4 tables and 10 figures.) [A 41-item list of references and notes is provided.]
ISSN:1554-9178
1554-9178
2469-9896
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010114