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Colin S. Wallace and Janelle M. Bailey
Although concept inventories are among the most frequently used tools in the physics and astronomy education communities, they are rarely evaluated using item response theory (IRT). When IRT models fit the data, they offer sample-independent estimates of item and person parameters. IRT may also provide a way to measure students' learning gains that circumvents some known issues with Hake's normalized gain. In this paper, we review the essentials of IRT while simultaneously applying it to the Star Properties Concept Inventory. We also use IRT to explore an important psychometrics debate that has received too little attention from physics and astronomy education researchers: What do we mean when we say we "measure" a mental process? This question leads us to use IRT to address the provocative question that constitutes the title of this paper: Do concept inventories actually measure anything?
Astronomy Education Review: Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 010116
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10966">Wallace, Colin, and Janelle Bailey. "Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?." Astron. Educ. Rev. 9, no. 1, (December 3, 2010): 010116.</a>
AIP Format
C. Wallace and J. Bailey, , Astron. Educ. Rev. 9 (1), 010116 (2010), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024).
AJP/PRST-PER
C. Wallace and J. Bailey, Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?, Astron. Educ. Rev. 9 (1), 010116 (2010), <https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024>.
APA Format
Wallace, C., & Bailey, J. (2010, December 3). Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?. Astron. Educ. Rev., 9(1), 010116. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024
Chicago Format
Wallace, Colin, and Janelle Bailey. "Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?." Astron. Educ. Rev. 9, no. 1, (December 3, 2010): 010116, https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024 (accessed 27 April 2024).
MLA Format
Wallace, Colin, and Janelle Bailey. "Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?." Astron. Educ. Rev. 9.1 (2010): 010116. 27 Apr. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{
Author = "Colin Wallace and Janelle Bailey",
Title = {Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything?},
Journal = {Astron. Educ. Rev.},
Volume = {9},
Number = {1},
Pages = {010116},
Month = {December},
Year = {2010}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Colin Wallace %A Janelle Bailey %T Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything? %J Astron. Educ. Rev. %V 9 %N 1 %D December 3, 2010 %P 010116 %U https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Journal Article %A Wallace, Colin %A Bailey, Janelle %D December 3, 2010 %T Do Concept Inventories Actually Measure Anything? %J Astron. Educ. Rev. %V 9 %N 1 %P 010116 %8 December 3, 2010 %U https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2010024 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. |
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