Chemistry problems are often full of features (images, equations, etc.) that introduce a high cognitive load on the student and can tax their working memory. As such, the complexity of the problem/task has a direct relationship to the success of the student. The construct of task complexity is often broken down into two components: objective complexity and subjective complexity. Objective complexity is a measure of the complexity of the operations necessary to complete the task, which is determined by an external rater. Subjective objectivity is the complexity experienced by the subject when completing the task and is a reaction to the specific task, as such subjective complexity will be unique to each individual. An understanding of both objective and subjective complexity is necessary to use item complexity as a predictor of performance. These aspects of task complexity bear a striking similarity to the parameters of item difficulty and item discrimination in Item Response theory. Item difficulty is an intrinsic characteristic of the item and item discrimination can be thought of as an interaction between the item and the person’s ability. This study explores the relationship between task complexity and parameters from item response theory using items from a first-year general chemistry exam.<br/>

Task complexity measures and Item response theory parameters: How are they related?

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.