Comparing Student Performance on Low-Stakes and High-Stakes Evaluations of Conceptual Understanding

Rachel V Vitali; Noel C Perkins; Cynthia J Finelli

doi:10.1109/FIE.2018.8658449

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Conference proceeding

Comparing Student Performance on Low-Stakes and High-Stakes Evaluations of Conceptual Understanding

Rachel V Vitali, Noel C Perkins and Cynthia J Finelli

2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Vol.2018-, pp.1-4

10/2018

DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2018.8658449

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Abstract

This Research to Practice Full Paper investigates how student performance during a low-stakes evaluation of conceptual understanding relates to performance during a high stakes evaluation. Concept inventories, like the Dynamics Concept Inventory (DCI), are used to assess student understanding of a specific set of concepts, typically in a low-stakes setting. The DCI was offered for very modest course extra credit at the beginning and end of an introductory dynamics course at a large, research-intensive public university. This represents the low-stakes evaluation. By contrast, a midterm examination administered 12 weeks into the 15 week semester included: 1) a set of short-answer concept questions related to the concepts covered by the DCI and 2) two traditional long-answer problem-solving questions. This midterm examination represents the culmination of student understanding of rigid body dynamics, which is primarily what the DCI covers. It also represents the high-stakes evaluation as this examination strongly influences the students' final grade in the class. The synergy of the relationships between these three evaluations indicate the low-stakes DCI assessment is a valid measure in quantifying student conceptual understanding.

concept inventory

Correlation

Correlation coefficient

course assessment

Instruments

Predictive models

Problem-solving

Reliability

student assessment

Task analysis

undergraduate

Details

Title: Subtitle: Comparing Student Performance on Low-Stakes and High-Stakes Evaluations of Conceptual Understanding
Creators: Rachel V Vitali - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Noel C Perkins - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Cynthia J Finelli - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Resource Type: Conference proceeding
Publication Details: 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Vol.2018-, pp.1-4
Publisher: IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2018.8658449
ISSN: 1539-4565
eISSN: 2377-634X
Language: English
Date published: 10/2018
Academic Unit: Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984196604602771

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