This paper introduces a new spreadsheet tool for adoption by high school or college-level physics teachers who use common assessments in a pre-instruction/post-instruction mode to diagnose student learning and teaching effectiveness. The spreadsheet creates a simple matrix that identifies the percentage of students who select each possible pre-/post-test answer combination on each question of the diagnostic exam. Leveraging analysis of the quality of the incorrect answer choices, one can order the answer choices from worst to best (i.e., correct), resulting in “transition matrices” that can provide deeper insight into student learning and the success or failure of the pedagogical approach than traditional analyses that employ dichotomous scoring.

1.
Erin M.
Bardar
,
Edward E.
Prather
,
Kenneth
Brecher
, and
Timothy F.
Slater
, “
Development and validation of the light and spectroscopy concept inventory
,”
Astron. Educ. Rev.
5
(
2
),
103
113
(
2007
).
2.
Lin
Ding
,
Ruth
Chabay
,
Bruce
Sherwood
, and
Robert
Beichner
, “
Evaluating an electricity and magnetism assessment tool: Brief electricity and magnetism assessment
,”
Phys. Rev ST Phys. Educ. Res.
2
(
1
),
010105
(
2006
).
3.
David
Hestenes
and
Malcolm
Wells
, “
A mechanics baseline test
,”
Phys. Teach.
30
,
159
166
(
March
1992
).
4.
David P.
Maloney
,
Thomas L.
O’Kuma
,
Curtis J.
Hieggelke
, and
Alan
Van Heuvelen
, “
Surveying students’ conceptual knowledge of electricity and magnetism
,”
Am. J. Phys.
69
,
S12
S23
(
July
2001
).
5.
Ronald K.
Thornton
and
David R.
Sokoloff
, “
Assessing student learning of Newton’s laws: The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and the evaluation of active learning laboratory and lecture curricula
,”
Am. J. Phys.
66
,
338
352
(
April
1998
).
6.
Sarah B.
McKagan
,
PhysPort
(
American Association of Physics Teachers
,
2015
), https://www.physport.org/assessments.
7.
David
Hestenes
,
Malcolm
Wells
, and
Gregg
Swackhamer
, “
Force Concept Inventory
,”
Phys. Teach.
30
,
141
158
(
March
1992
).
8.
E.
Mazur
,
Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual
(
Prentice Hall
,
Upper Saddle River, NJ
,
1997
).
9.
H.
Dedic
,
S.
Rosenfield
, and
N.
Lasry
, “
Are all wrong answers equivalent?
AIP Conf. Proc.
1289
(
10
),
125
(
2010
).
10.
Gary A.
Morris
,
Nathan
Harshman
,
Lee
Branum-Martin
,
Eric
Mazur
,
Taha
Mzoughi
, and
Stephen D.
Baker
, “
An item response curves analysis of the Force Concept Inventory
,”
Am. J. Phys.
80
,
825
831
(
Sept.
2012
).
11.
G. A.
Morris
,
L.
Branum-Martin
,
N.
Harshman
,
S. D.
Baker
,
E.
Mazur
,
S.
Dutta
,
T.
Mzoughi
, and
V.
McCauley
, “
Testing the test: Item response curves and test quality
,”
Am. J. Phys.
74
,
449
453
(
May
2006
).
12.
J.
Wang
and
L.
Bao
, “
Analyzing force concept inventory with item response theory
,”
Am. J. Phys.
78
,
1064
1070
(
Oct.
2010
).
13.
Richard R.
Hake
, “
Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses
,”
Am. J. Phys.
66
,
64
74
(
Jan.
1998
).
AAPT members receive access to The Physics Teacher and the American Journal of Physics as a member benefit. To learn more about this member benefit and becoming an AAPT member, visit the Joining AAPT page.