"C"ing the light - assessing code comprehension in novice programmers using C code patterns

Feedback on one's progress is essential to new programming language learners, particularly in out-of-classroom settings. Though many study materials offer assessment mechanisms, most do not examine the accuracy of the feedback they deliver, nor give evidence on its validity. We investigate the...

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Veröffentlicht in:Computer science education Jg. 35; H. 3; S. 457 - 481
Hauptverfasser: Glasauer, Christina, Yeh, Martin K., DeLong, Lois Anne, Yan, Yu, Zhuang, Yanyan
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Norwood Routledge 03.07.2025
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Schlagworte:
assessment tool
C language
Feedback
measurement quality
Programming
Programming languages
Programming skills
Validity
ISSN:0899-3408, 1744-5175
Online-Zugang:Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:Feedback on one's progress is essential to new programming language learners, particularly in out-of-classroom settings. Though many study materials offer assessment mechanisms, most do not examine the accuracy of the feedback they deliver, nor give evidence on its validity. We investigate the potential use of a preexisting set of C code snippets as the basis for a high-quality C programming ability assessment tool. We utilize the Rasch Model and the Linear Logistic Test Model to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the code snippets and to determine which C operations contribute most to their overall difficulty. Our results show that these code snippets yield accurate assessments of programming ability and reveal the degree of difficulty associated with specific programming operations. Our results suggest that the code snippets could serve as the basis for sophisticated, valid, and fair code comprehension skill assessment tools.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0899-3408
1744-5175
DOI:10.1080/08993408.2024.2317079