Assessing gains in undergraduate students' abilities to analyze graphical data

Analytical and graphing skills are critical to scientific understanding. While these skills are usually taught in ecology and environmental science courses, rarely are they assessed. How much do students’ analytical skills improve over the course of a semester? What areas provide the most challenges for students? In this study we assessed analytical and graphing abilities in 240 students at four colleges and universities. Over the course of a semester, we integrated graphing and data analysis throughout our lecture and lab courses, using active-learning exercises that we developed. We assessed student skills before, during, and after the courses. In posttests, most students (75-90 %) were adept at interpreting simple bar graphs and