ERIC Number: EJ1090668
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Feb
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Test-Retest Reliability of the Adaptive Chemistry Assessment Survey for Teachers: Measurement Error and Alternatives to Correlation
Harshman, Jordan; Yezierski, Ellen
Journal of Chemical Education, v93 n2 p239-247 Feb 2016
Determining the error of measurement is a necessity for researchers engaged in bench chemistry, chemistry education research (CER), and a multitude of other fields. Discussions regarding what constructs measurement error entails and how to best measure them have occurred, but the critiques about traditional measures have yielded few alternatives. We present a brief review of psychometric reliability from its beginning in the early 1900s as well as a summary of critiques of the test-retest reliability coefficient. Then, we posit our own novel measurement, the zeta-range estimator, to assist in quantifying and accounting for measurement error that those interested in educational researchers will find beneficial. We provide a proof-of-concept using simulated data and then analyze the reliability of items on the Adaptive Chemistry Assessment Survey for Teachers, a survey designed to characterize data-driven inquiry. While the focus is for CER, the zeta-range estimator also holds significant value for those outside of educational research, as future work can expand our proof-of-concept to account for more than two measurements. While this estimator is a great starting place, we discuss its limitations and hope future research can use the ideas presented here to explore new frontiers in measurement error determination.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Chemistry, Error of Measurement, Psychometrics, Simulation, Teacher Surveys, Computation, Secondary School Science, High Schools, Scientific Concepts, Test Reliability, Secondary School Teachers
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 - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A