Journal Article Detail Page
Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level
written by
Stephanie Viola Chasteen, Rachel E. Pepper, Marcos D. Caballero, Steven J. Pollock, and Katherine K. Perkins
As part of an effort to systematically improve our junior-level E&M I course, we have developed a tool to assess student conceptual learning of electrostatics at the upper division. Together with a group of physics faculty, we established a list of learning goals for the course that, with results from student observations and interviews, served as a guide in creating the Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics (CUE) assessment. The result is a 17-question open-ended post-test diagnostic (with an optional 7-question pretest) and an accompanying grading rubric. We present measures of the validation and reliability of the instrument and grading rubric, plus results from 535 students in both standard and interactive-engagement courses across seven institutions as a baseline for the instrument. Overall, we find that the CUE is a valid and reliable measure, and the data herein are intended to be of use to researchers and faculty interested in using the CUE to measure student learning.
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research: Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages 020108
2 supplemental documents are available
Appendix A: Student performance on final CUE questionsThis data is intended to enable comparison of rubric-reliability on individual items, and to allow instructors administering the CUE to compare student performance on individual items with our published results. download 80kb .pdf Published: September 7, 2012 Rights: Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The citation for the original article is: Stephanie V. Chasteen, Rachel E. Pepper, Marcos D. Caballero, Steven J. Pollock, and Katherine K. Perkins, Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8 (2), 020108 (2012), doi:10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.020108.
Appendix C: CUE Grading RubricAlthough this document provides a summary of the Rubric, it is not to be used for grading the CUE. In order for scores generated using this rubric to be compared to the results discussed above, graders must go through a calibration exercise. The full training packet … download 294kb .pdf Published: September 7, 2012 Rights: Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This document is Appendix C of the article: Stephanie V. Chasteen, Rachel E. Pepper, Marcos D. Caballero, Steven J. Pollock, and Katherine K. Perkins, Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8 (2), 020108 (2012), doi:10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.020108.
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<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=12647">Chasteen, S, R. Pepper, M. Caballero, S. Pollock, and K. Perkins. "Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8, no. 2, (September 7, 2012): 020108.</a>
AIP Format
S. Chasteen, R. Pepper, M. Caballero, S. Pollock, and K. Perkins, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8 (2), 020108 (2012), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223).
AJP/PRST-PER
S. Chasteen, R. Pepper, M. Caballero, S. Pollock, and K. Perkins, Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8 (2), 020108 (2012), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223>.
APA Format
Chasteen, S., Pepper, R., Caballero, M., Pollock, S., & Perkins, K. (2012, September 7). Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 8(2), 020108. Retrieved April 12, 2026, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223
Chicago Format
Chasteen, S, R. Pepper, M. Caballero, S. Pollock, and K. Perkins. "Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8, no. 2, (September 7, 2012): 020108, https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223 (accessed 12 April 2026).
MLA Format
Chasteen, Stephanie Viola, Rachel Pepper, Marcos D. Caballero, Steven Pollock, and Katherine K. Perkins. "Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8.2 (2012): 020108. 12 Apr. 2026 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{
Author = "Stephanie Viola Chasteen and Rachel Pepper and Marcos D. Caballero and Steven Pollock and Katherine K. Perkins",
Title = {Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level},
Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.},
Volume = {8},
Number = {2},
Pages = {020108},
Month = {September},
Year = {2012}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Stephanie Viola Chasteen %A Rachel Pepper %A Marcos D. Caballero %A Steven Pollock %A Katherine K. Perkins %T Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 8 %N 2 %D September 7, 2012 %P 020108 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Journal Article %A Chasteen, Stephanie Viola %A Pepper, Rachel %A Caballero, Marcos D. %A Pollock, Steven %A Perkins, Katherine K. %D September 7, 2012 %T Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 8 %N 2 %P 020108 %8 September 7, 2012 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12647&DocID=3223 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics diagnostic: A conceptual assessment for the junior level:
References Key Document
Colorado Upper Division Electrostatics (CUE) Assessment
Appendix B of this article provides version 22 of the CUE. The most recent version may be obtained from steven.pollock@colorado.edu. relation by Lyle BarbatoKnow of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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