Assessing Data Literacy with Performance Assessments

Data literacy refers to the ability to read, understand, evaluate, and analyze data and use results to support evidence-based thinking and decision-making. Data literacy skills enable individuals to derive meaningful insights from data and understand data-related concepts and terminology. In today's data-driven society, data literacy is crucial for making informed decisions and effectively communicating data-driven insights.

Data plays a crucial role in today's society. It helps businesses understand their customers' needs and preferences, improve their products or services, and make informed decisions. In the field of healthcare, data analysis can lead to medical breakthroughs, improve patient care, and enhance disease prevention. In governance and public policy, data allows for more efficient decision-making and resource allocation. Citizens also increasingly use data for decision-making related to education, employment, and everyday life. Data literacy skills are essential for solving both real-life and discipline-specific problems. Hence, data literacy has become an indispensable asset in shaping and advancing various aspects of today's society.

In this project, we are creating digital performance assessments to evaluate students' data literacy skills. These assessments will involve authentic problems with different sources of data. Unlike traditional assessments, digital performance assessments can be designed to be interactive, integrative, and mirror real-life problem-solving scenarios. This allows students to showcase their skills in settings that closely resemble real-world situations by performing complex tasks.