The Influence of Item Formats when Locating a Student on a Learning Progression in Science

Authors : Jing Chen

Pages : 101-122

Doi:10.21449/ijate.245196

View : 24 | Download : 12

Publication Date : 2016-07-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Learning progressions are used to describe how students’ understanding of a topic progresses over time. This study evaluates the effectiveness of different item formats for placing students into levels along a learning progression for carbon cycling. The item formats investigated were Constructed Response insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(CR); items and two types of two-tier items: insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1); Ordered Multiple-Choice insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(OMC); followed by CR items and insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(2); Multiple True or False insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(MTF); followed by CR items. Our results suggest that estimates of students’ learning progression level based on OMC and MTF responses are moderately predictive of their level based on CR responses. With few exceptions, CR items were effective for differentiating students among learning progression levels. Based on the results, we discuss how to design and best use items in each format to more accurately measure students’ level along learning progressions in science. 
Keywords : Item Format, Item Response Theory IRT, Learning Progression, Science Assessment