LOCUS assessments

Last updated on Jun 12, 2024
Project Site

The Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) project developed a family of tests for measuring statistics knowledge that are freely available online. The aim of the LOCUS project (PI: Tim Jacobbe) was to develop statistics tests that measured conceptual—rather than procedural—knowledge. I joined this project as a graduate student and have continued to use these assessments and document their validity evidence for use with different populations.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under (Grant No. DRL-1118168). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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stat-ed knowledge instrument development
Douglas Whitaker
Douglas Whitaker
Associate Professor of Statistics

Publications

Establishing the Validity and Reliability of the LOCUS Assessments
The development of assessments as part of the funded LOCUS project is described. The assessments measure students’ conceptual …
Tim Jacobbe, Bob delMas, Brad Hartlaub, Jeff Haberstroh, Catherine Case, Steven Foti, Douglas Whitaker
Project DOI Full Text
Establishing the Validity and Reliability of the LOCUS Assessments
Students' Understanding of Bar Graphs and Histograms: Results From the LOCUS Assessments
Bar graphs and histograms are core statistical tools that are widely used in statistical practice and commonly taught in classrooms. …
Douglas Whitaker, Tim Jacobbe
Project DOI Full Text
Students' Understanding of Bar Graphs and Histograms: Results From the LOCUS Assessments
The Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) project: results of the pilot study
The Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) project (NSF DRL-111868) has created assessments that measure conceptual …
Douglas Whitaker, Steven Foti, Tim Jacobbe
Cite Project DOI Full Text
The Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) project: results of the pilot study
Middle school (ages 10 – 13) students’ understanding of statistics
This paper will present results from the administration of the LOCUS assessments to measure students’ statistical …
Tim Jacobbe, Steven Foti, Douglas Whitaker
PDF Project
Middle school (ages 10 – 13) students’ understanding of statistics
The LOCUS assessment at the college level: Conceptual understanding in introductory statistics
LOCUS is a collection of assessments designed to measure conceptual understanding of statistics at the levels hypothesized by the …
Tim Jacobbe, Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case, Steven Foti
PDF Project
The LOCUS assessment at the college level: Conceptual understanding in introductory statistics
High school (ages 14 – 18) students’ understanding of statistics
This paper will present results from the administration of the LOCUS assessments to measure students’ statistical …
TimJacobbe, Steven Foti, Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker
PDF Project
High school (ages 14 – 18) students’ understanding of statistics
Establishing the validity of the LOCUS assessments through an evidenced-centered design approach
This paper presents the systematic process utilized by the Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) …
Tim Jacobbe, Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker, Steven Foti
PDF Project
Establishing the validity of the LOCUS assessments through an evidenced-centered design approach
Lessons from the LOCUS assessments (part 1): Comparing groups
Douglas Whitaker, Tim Jacobbe
PDF Project
Lessons from the LOCUS assessments (part 1): Comparing groups

Events

Examining the use of the LOCUS assessment with undergraduate students
The LOCUS (Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics) assessments are designed to measure conceptual understanding of statistics …
Jul 1, 2021 — Virtual (USCOTS 2021)
Nathan Hebert, Douglas Whitaker
Project
Examining the use of the LOCUS assessment with undergraduate students
Students’ understanding of histograms and bar graphs: results from the LOCUS assessments
Histograms and bar graphs are standard data displays, and fluency with their use is a requisite for understanding many important …
Jun 16, 2015 — Halifax, Nova Scotia (SSC 2015)
Douglas Whitaker
Project
Students’ understanding of histograms and bar graphs: results from the LOCUS assessments
LOCUS: Assessing conceptual understanding of statistics
The Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) assessments are an NSF-funded (DRL-1118168) family of assessments designed …
Jun 15, 2015 — Halifax, Nova Scotia (SSC 2015)
Douglas Whitaker, Tim Jacobbe
Project
LOCUS: Assessing conceptual understanding of statistics
Establishing the Validity and Reliability of Assessments of Statistical Understanding
May 30, 2015 — State College, Pennsylvania (USCOTS 2015)
Robert delMas, Tim Jacobbe, Douglas Whitaker
Project
Establishing the Validity and Reliability of Assessments of Statistical Understanding
LOCUS: Assessing Students’ and Teachers’ Knowledge of Statistics
The Levels of Conceptual Understanding of Statistics (LOCUS) assessments are the product of a multi-year NSF grant (DRL-1118168) …
Feb 28, 2015 — Las Vegas, Nevada (RCML 2015)
Douglas Whitaker
Project
LOCUS: Assessing Students’ and Teachers’ Knowledge of Statistics
LOCUS assessments: Implications for and uses in research and teaching
The NSF-funded LOCUS project (DRL-1118168) has developed assessments to measure conceptual understanding in statistics, different from …
Nov 6, 2014 — Jacksonville, FL (SSMA 2014)
Douglas Whitaker, Steven Foti, Catherine Case, Tim Jacobbe
Project
LOCUS assessments: Implications for and uses in research and teaching
LOCUS: A Tool for Assessing Statistical Reasoning in the Common Core State Standards
This session will present diagnostic assessments for measuring students’ understanding of statistics as outlined in the Common Core …
Oct 31, 2014 — Indianapolis, Indiana (NCTM Regional Indianapolis 2014)
Douglas Whitaker, Tim Jacobbe
Project
LOCUS: A Tool for Assessing Statistical Reasoning in the Common Core State Standards
High school (ages 14 – 18) students’ understanding of statistics
This paper will present results from the administration of the LOCUS assessments to measure students’ statistical understanding in …
Jul 18, 2014 — Flagstaff, Arizona (ICOTS 9)
Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker, Steve Foti, Tim Jacobbe
Project
High school (ages 14 – 18) students’ understanding of statistics
Middle school (ages 10 – 13) students’ understanding of statistics
This paper will present results from the administration of the LOCUS assessments to measure students’ statistical understanding in …
Jul 17, 2014 — Flagstaff, Arizona (ICOTS 9)
Steve Foti, Douglas Whitaker, Tim Jacobbe
Project
Middle school (ages 10 – 13) students’ understanding of statistics
The LOCUS assessment at the college level: conceptual understanding in introductory statistics
LOCUS is a collection of assessments designed to measure conceptual understanding of statistics at the levels hypothesized by the GAISE …
Jul 17, 2014 — Flagstaff, Arizona (ICOTS 9)
Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case, Steve Foti, Tim Jacobbe
Project
The LOCUS assessment at the college level: conceptual understanding in introductory statistics
Establishing the validity of the LOCUS assessments through an evidenced-centered design approach
This paper presents the systematic process utilized by the Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) project to …
Jul 15, 2014 — Flagstaff, Arizona (ICOTS 9)
Tim Jacobbe, Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker, Steve Foti
Project
Establishing the validity of the LOCUS assessments through an evidenced-centered design approach
LOCUS as a Tool to Measure Teachers' Preparation to Teach Statistics
The release and widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have dramatically increased the expectations for teaching …
May 21, 2014 — Virtual (eCOTS 2014)
Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker, Steven Foti, Tim Jacobbe
Project
LOCUS as a Tool to Measure Teachers' Preparation to Teach Statistics
LOCUS: A Tool for Assessing Statistical Reasoning in the CCSS
This session will present diagnostic assessments for measuring students’ understanding of statistics as outlined in the Common Core …
Apr 11, 2014 — New Orleans, Louisiana (NCTM 2014)
Tim Jacobbe, Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case
Project
LOCUS: A Tool for Assessing Statistical Reasoning in the CCSS
A Measure of Students’ Understanding of Statistics
This session will describe how over 3,000 students performed across the three levels of statistical understanding articulated in the …
Apr 6, 2014 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (AERA 2014)
Tim Jacobbe, Robert C. delMas, Jeff Haberstroh, Brad Hartlaub, Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case, Steve Foti
Project
A Measure of Students’ Understanding of Statistics
Establishing the Content Validity of the LOCUS Assessments Through Evidence-Centered Design
This session will present the detailed process that has been utilized to establish the content validity for assessments to measures …
Apr 4, 2014 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (AERA 2014)
Tim Jacobbe, Jeff Haberstroh, Robert C. delMas, Brad Hartlaub, Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case, Steve Foti
Project
Establishing the Content Validity of the LOCUS Assessments Through Evidence-Centered Design
LOCUS pilot study and preliminary findings
The initial pilot forms of the LOCUS assessments were administered to middle school and high school students in spring 2013. A …
Aug 7, 2013 — Montréal, Québec (JSM 2013)
Douglas Whitaker, Catherine Case
Project
LOCUS pilot study and preliminary findings
The evolution of items from the LOCUS assessment
The goal for this project is to show the evolution of several items from the Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) …
Apr 18, 2013 — Gainesville, Florida (SAGE Research Symposium 2013)
Douglas Whitaker
Project
The evolution of items from the LOCUS assessment