Data literacy assessments: a systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

With the exponential increase in the volume of data available in the 21^st century, data literacy skills have become vitally important in work places and everyday life. This paper provides a systematic review of available data literacy assessments targeted at different audiences and educational levels. The results can help researchers and practitioners better understand the current state of data literacy assessments in terms of issues related to 1) educational levels and audiences; 2) data literacy definitions and competencies; 3) assessment types and item formats; and 4) reliability and validity evidence. The results from the present review led us to conclude that teaching and assessing data literacy is still an emerging field in education. Therefore, high-quality assessment tools are greatly needed to provide valuable insights for students and instructors to monitor progress as well as facilitate and support teaching and learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Data literacy
• assessment
• evaluation
• 21^st century competencies
• quantitative skills

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC, 435-2019-0159).

Notes on contributors

Ying Cui

Dr. Ying Cui is a Professor in Measurement, Evaluation and Data Science at the University of Alberta

Fu Chen

Dr. Fu Chen is an Assistent Professor at University of Macau

Alina Lutsyk

Alina Lutsyk is a PhD student in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta

Jacqueline P. Leighton

Dr. Jacqueline P. Leighton is a Professor in Psychological Studies in Education at the University of Alberta

Maria Cutumisu

Dr Maria Cutumisu is an Associate Professsor in Measure, Evaluation, and Data Science at the University of Alberta