ERIC Number: EJ936756
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
A Valid and Reliable Instrument for Cognitive Complexity Rating Assignment of Chemistry Exam Items
Knaus, Karen; Murphy, Kristen; Blecking, Anja; Holme, Thomas
Journal of Chemical Education, v88 n5 p554-560 May 2011
The design and use of a valid and reliable instrument for the assignment of cognitive complexity ratings to chemistry exam items is described in this paper. Use of such an instrument provides a simple method to quantify the cognitive demands of chemistry exam items. Instrument validity was established in two different ways: statistically significant correlations between expert-based cognitive complexity ratings and student performance (as measured through statistical difficulty of items), and statistically significant correlations between expert-based cognitive complexity ratings and student mental effort ratings. Key benefits associated with instrument use include an enhanced understanding of the cognitive complexity of chemistry assessment tasks and as a means for characterizing exam content for the measurement of cognitive development. (Contains 1 table and 8 figures.)
Descriptors: Chemistry, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Development, Science Instruction, Test Items, Science Tests, Test Validity, Correlation, Statistical Significance, Scientific Concepts, College Science
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A