Validation and analysis of the coupled multiple response Colorado upper-division electrostatics (CUE) diagnostic

Abstract

Standardized conceptual assessment represents a widely-used tool for educational researchers interested in student learning within the standard undergraduate physics curriculum. For example, these assessments are often used to measure student learning across educational contexts and instructional strategies. However, to support the large-scale implementation often required for cross-institutional testing, it is necessary for these instruments to have question formats that facilitate easy grading. Previously, we created a multiple-response version of an existing, validated, upper-division electrostatics diagnostic with the goal of increasing the instrument's potential for large-scale implementation. Here, we report on the validity and reliability of this new version as an independent instrument. These findings establish the validity of the multiple-response version as measured by multiple test statistics including item difficulty, item discrimination, and internal consistency. Moreover, we demonstrate that the majority of student responses to the new version are internally consistent even when they are incorrect, and provide an example of how the new format can be used to gain insight into student difficulties with specific content in electrostatics.

8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. ST-PER

References in corpus (4)

• Analytic Framework for Students' Use of Mathematics in Upper-Division Physics
• Coupled Multiple-response vs. Free-response Conceptual assessment: An Example from upper-division Physics
• Development and Uses of Upper-division Conceptual Assessment
• Upper-division student difficulties with the Dirac delta function

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Investigating students' behavior and performance in online conceptual assessment
• Using think-aloud interviews to characterize model-based reasoning in electronics for a laboratory course assessment
• Student Epistemological Framing on Paper-Based Assessments
• Complex multiple-choice questions are inequitable for low-income and domestic students (and difficult for everyone)