An investigation into the effectiveness of structural communication grid technique on the student performance in the aspect of measurement process

In this study, the effectiveness of Structural Communication Grid (SCG) technique on the student performance in terms of measurement process was studied. For the study, Primary School Selective Information and Communication Technologies course was chosen.This study was conducted using the data gathered from 137 students studying at 7th and 8 th grades at a Primary School in Çaycuma, Zonguldak. The unit studied was ?I?m Comparing My Calculations? of 7th grade Primary School Selective Information and Communication Technologies Education Program. A SCG test including 32 test items measuring the target behaviors of the mentioned unit was prepared. Test items prepared was transferred to the computer program ?Structural Communication Grid? written by Erol Karakırık, Mehmet Bahar and Fatih Aydın (2003) and each participant of the study answered the items using the computer program. The answers were graded and the details of the answers were saved as a ?Notepad? file. So, the grades participants got from each items and each grid and their overall grades can be found in the saved file.Also, a scale which measures the participants? attitudes towards computer was prepared by the researcher. Considering the related literature and data obtained from the students, both positive and negative 20 items were estimated and examined by the experts. After making the necessary correction, a scale consisting 10 items was applied to the 137 7th and 8 th grade students. According to the factorial analysis results it was decided to eliminate 2 items which didn?t serve fort he aim of the scale. So, reliability coefficient of the attitude towards computer was found as 0,67.When the SCG test was examined regarding validity, it was understood that the test has content validity and face validity. In order to find out the criterion validity of SCG test the correlation between the participants? SCG test grades and mathematics course grades was calculated. The correlation was found to be 0,73 which means the criterion validity of the test is high. However, regarding to SCG test results, it was found there wasn?t a significant difference between girls? and boys? test results. This data can be interpreted as there is no bias in regard to gender difference, so it can be said that this is an advantage of SCG technique. Also, when SCG test results were compared to positive and negative attitudes towards computer, it was observed that there was a significant difference between SCG test results and positive attitudes towards computer.When the SCG test was examined in terms of reliability cronbach ? was found to be 0,92 and split half reliability was found to be 0,93. Since the grading of the SCG test is objective, its reliability increases.It was conducted that SCG test was useful in terms of grading application, interpretation of the grades, economy. However, the usefulness of the test will increase more if the hardware and software problems faced during planning were eliminated.Key Words: Alternative Measurement and Evaluation, Structural Communication Grid, Computer Based Assessment, Attitude towards Computer.