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What Are We Assessing When We Assess Computational Thinking in Early Childhood? A Systematic Review

Thu, April 24, 1:45 to 3:15pm MDT (1:45 to 3:15pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Ballroom Level, Mile High Ballroom 2A and 3A

Abstract

Computational Thinking (CT) is becoming increasingly important in early childhood education. However, there is still no agreement on what specific aspects of CT should be assessed or the best methods for assessing young learners. Recent reviews indicate that research on CT assessments often do not report reliability and validity evidence. This systematic review analyzed 21 studies of early childhood CT assessments (2006–2024) to investigate what CT concepts are assessed, how the concepts are assessed, and what kinds of psychometric evidence is reported. We found algorithmic thinking is the most common concept assessed (85.7%) and selected-response items are the most common item type (47.6%). Most studies report evidence of validity (95.2%) and reliability (85.7%) and few discuss fairness (9.5%).

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