A Normative Analysis of the TechCheck Computational Thinking Assessment

Autor/inn/en	Relkin, Emily; Johnson, Sara K.; Bers, Marina U.
Titel	A Normative Analysis of the TechCheck Computational Thinking Assessment
Quelle	In: Educational Technology & Society, 26 (2023) 2, S.118-130 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	Weitere Informationen
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1176-3647
Schlagwörter	Elementary School Students; Developmentally Appropriate Practices; Computation; Thinking Skills; Student Evaluation; Coding; Educational Technology; Psychometrics; Usability; Scoring; Raw Scores + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Entwicklungsbezogene Bildung; Denkfähigkeit; Schulnote; Studentische Bewertung; Codierung; Programmierung; Unterrichtsmedien; Psychometry; Psychometrie; Bewertung
Abstract	"TechCheck" is an assessment of Computational Thinking (CT) for early elementary school children consisting of fifteen developmentally appropriate unplugged challenges that probe six CT domains. The first version of "TechCheck" showed good psychometric properties as well as ease of administration and scoring in a validation cohort of 768 children between 5 and 9 years of age. To increase sensitivity and reduce possible ceiling and floor effects, grade-specific versions of "TechCheck" (K, 1, 2) were subsequently created. In the present study, we explored how CT skills could be compared across grades when grade-specific versions of "TechCheck" are administered. First, we examined "TechCheck" raw score distributions and responses within CT domains in a representative sample of students from the three grades. Grade-specific Z-scores and percentile rankings were then calculated. To show utility of this normalization system, we used percentiles to compare CT outcomes between first and second graders who participated in a ScratchJr coding educational intervention. While "TechCheck" change scores suggested an unexpected 42.74% difference in CT outcomes between first and second grade, application of the normative scoring system indicated a more plausible 5.17 percentile rank difference between grades. Normative analysis may provide a more meaningful way to compare results across grades when grade-specific versions of "TechCheck" are used. Implications for the future use of the "TechCheck" CT assessments are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	International Forum of Educational Technology & Society. Available from: National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. No. 123, Section 3, Daxue Road, Douliu City, Yunlin County, Taiwan 64002. e-mail: journal.ets@gmail.com; Web site: https://www.j-ets.net/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01