The Role of Concept Inventories in Course Assessment

Development of effective instructional materials, particularly those intended to address strongly held alternative conceptions about the natural world, is difficult. Research suggests that the most effective instruction stems from initial consideration of instructional goals and careful alignment of practice with those goals. Understanding whether or not instruction is effective itself requires development of assessment instruments that are written in direct correspondence to pre-articulated goals. Concept inventories (CIs), multiple-choice tests targeting specific content, are becoming increasingly popular mechanisms for assessing student learning, particularly in the USA. CIs have become popular because they target student alternative conceptions authentically and are relatively easy to implement even to very large lecture courses. The wide array of CIs available both in the USA and internationally reflects the importance that faculty place on addressing student conceptions. CIs can be used as both instructional tools and as research instruments; where used for research, scholars must be careful to evaluate the validity and reliability of the CI being used. In this chapter, we provide evidence of the value of CIs for use in both course and programmatic assessment. In addition, we illustrate the importance of community discourse in ensuring that CIs are appropriate for research.