Validity Study of Linked Items to Determine Student Fundamental Ideas

• In Event: 28.039 - Investigating Validity and Validation of Assessments

Abstract

Typically, the student’s level of understanding on a multiple-choice test is determined by the number of correct responses on those items tapping the same concept. In this study, we explore an alternative strategy to better understand the level of student knowledge. We use items designed to provide confirming and disconfirming evidence about the student’s understanding focusing the analysis on the correct and incorrect options between items. The goals of this paper are two-fold:
1) Illustrate differences of data obtained using a more traditional methodology of coding and scoring item to the method utilized in this study
2) Provide a validity argument for the method used in this study by using data from student interviews.

Authors

• Philip Hernandez, Stanford University

• Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo, Stanford University

• Xiaoming Zhai, University of Georgia

• Klint Kanopka, Stanford University