Developing a Short-Form Version of the Basic Literacy in Statistics (BLIS-3) Assessment

<p>Statistical literacy is essential in today’s data-driven society, but difficult to measure. The Basic Literacy in Statistics (BLIS-3) assessment serves as a comprehensive measure, but its length renders it impractical for research use. This study developed a brief version of the BLIS-3 for use in the post-secondary student population. Using data from 261 students with varying degrees of statistics experience, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and item response theory (IRT) were used to explore the best short-form measure. The final short-form BLIS-3 consists of 12 items that accounted for 34.0% of the variance in statistical literacy, with strong internal consistency. Results indicate that the short-form measure had improved psychometric properties over the full-length BLIS-3. Future research should extend the testing of this concise measure to a larger, more diverse sample. This tool will allow researchers and educators to examine statistical literacy alongside other constructs of interest.</p>