Diagnostic assessment of elementary school pupils’ understanding of aliphatic hydrocarbons by using a three-tier test

Diagnostic assessment of understanding of content that is currently being elaborated provides teachers with an important insight into the way in which the learning process unfolds among their pupils. In chemistry teaching, this type of assessment is particularly important in situations when complex teaching content, such as organic chemistry content related to aliphatic hydrocarbons in the eighth grade of elementary school, is introduced to the pupils for the first time. To assess the understanding of this content at the given educational level, the present study used a three-tier diagnostic test. A satisfactory understanding on such tests is indicated by correct answers to the first two tiers and the answer Yes to the third tier, while incorrect answer combinations on the first two tiers and the answer Yes to the third tier imply the presence of misconceptions. The three-tier test composed of ten items was completed by 114 pupils. On seven items the satisfactory understanding was shown in 51.75% to 63.16% of the pupils, while on three items, related to the chemical reactions of aliphatic hydrocarbons, the satisfactory understanding was found in less than 40% of the pupils. Six genuine misconceptions, held by at least 10% of the pupils, were also detected. Thus, a detailed insight into the eighth-grade elementary school pupils’ understanding of aliphatic hydrocarbons was obtained.