Using Validated Assessments to Learn About Your Students

Computer Science now has a number of validated instruments available for measuring student knowledge or interest in computing including the Second CS1 Assessment (SCS1), The Basic Data Structures Inventory (BDSI), the Computing Attitudes Survey (CAS), and the Digital Logic CI. These instruments can be used by instructors to assess their students and/or their own teaching. They can also be used by researchers to measure students' learning or attitudes. The goal of this BOF is to help instructors and researchers gain a better understanding of how to use these instruments, whether that be to get started in education research, to compare student learning across terms/curricular revisions, or just to learn more about student misconceptions. We will begin by discussing the available instruments, their purpose, and how to obtain them. Then we will open the discussion to the group on what they would like to measure, how these instruments might work for them, and how to best employ them with their students.