Validation of a Spanish-language Version of a Computer Programming Aptitude Test for First-year University Students

Abstract

There is increasing interest in computer science and computing bachelor programs due to the growing importance of technology in the globalized world. Thus, as higher education institutions strive to serve a diverse student demographic, it is salient to gauge their programming abilities to improve guidance on learning processes regarding their initial knowledge state. Despite the availability of certain instruments to measure student programming skills, these are traditionally aimed at younger populations and do not accurately discriminate the different levels of ability among university students. This article introduces a translation into Spanish and validation of an existing English-language aptitude test for computing jobs that can be used to measure the programming abilities of students with no prior experience in the field. Following a cyclic research methodology, two iterations were carried out in this article. First, the aforementioned test was translated and validated via expert judgment and focus groups, in which certain items were removed subsequent to a quantitative analysis. The resultant instrument underwent a second validation using a larger population of students. Analysis conducted after the second iteration showed this instrument to deliver good internal consistency, good difficulty and discrimination indices, and a moderate correlation with the grades of the midterm exam of a programming course undertaken by first year engineering students. This work contributes to both increasing the number of tests available in the Spanish language with which to assess programming abilities, as well as to the broader literature regarding test adaptation, translation and validation.