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Session 3230

The Statistics Concepts Inventory: Developing a Valid and Reliable Instrument

Kirk Allen1, Andrea Stone2, Teri Reed Rhoads1, Teri J. Murphy2 University of Oklahoma School of Industrial Engineering1 Department of Mathematics2

Abstract

The Statistics Concepts Inventory (SCI) is currently under development at the University of Oklahoma. This paper documents the early stages of assessing the validity, reliability, and discriminatory power of a cognitive assessment instrument for statistics. The evolution of test items on the basis of validity, reliability, and discrimination is included. The instrument has been validated on the basis of content validity through the use of focus groups and faculty surveys. Concurrent validity is measured by correlating SCI scores with course grades. The SCI currently attains concurrent validity for Engineering Statistics courses, but fails to do so for Mathematics Statistics courses. Because the SCI is targeted at Engineering departments, this is a good starting point, but the researchers hope to improve the instrument so that it has applicability across disciplines. The test is shown to be reliable in terms of coefficient alpha for most populations. This paper also describes how specific questions have changed as a result of answer distribution analysis, reliability, discrimination, and focus group comments. Four questions are analyzed in detail: 1) one that was thrown out, 2) one that underwent major revisions, 3) one that required only minor changes, and 4) one that required no changes.

Introduction

The concept inventory movement was spurred by the development and successful implementation of the Force Concept Inventory1,2. The FCI was developed as a pre-post test to identify student misconceptions when entering a course and check for gains upon completing the course. After many rounds of testing, it was discovered that students gain the most conceptual knowledge in interactive engagement courses, as opposed to traditional lectures3.

The success of the FCI prompted researchers to develop instruments in other fields. In light of recent ABET accreditation standards which focus on outcomes rather than simply fulfilling seat time requirements, many engineering fields have begun to development concept inventories4.

The pilot study of the Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI), conducted in Fall 2002, contained 32 questions and examined differences in scores due to gender and academic discipline5. The study

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Allen, K., & Rhoads, T. R., & Murphy, T., & Stone, A. (2004, June), The Statistics Concepts Inventory: Developing A Valid And Reliable Instrument Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13652