A Classical Test Theory Analysis of the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory National Study Data Set

Abstract

This paper is the first in a series of investigations into the data from the recent national study using the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI). In this paper, we use classical test theory to form a framework of results that will be used to evaluate individual item difficulties, item discriminations, and the overall reliability of the LSCI. We perform an analysis of individual students’ normalized gains, providing further insight into the prior results from this data set. This investigation allows us to better understand the efficacy of measuring student achievement using the LSCI. Future papers will discuss our investigation of the data from the recent national study using item response theory (IRT).