How is computational thinking assessed in European K-12 education? A systematic review

Abstract

Computational thinking (CT) is seen as a key competence of the 21st century and different countries have started to integrate it into their compulsory school curricula. However, there exist only few indications on how to assess CT in compulsory school. This review analyses which tools are used to assess CT in European schools and which dimensions of CT are assessed. We analysed 26 studies carried out between 2016 and 2020 in K-12 in Europe. The results indicate that 18 different tools have been used which can be categorized in 5 groups: questionnaires, tests/tasks, observations, interviews and analysis of products. We derived more than 50 dimensions of CT that are assessed with the tools we analysed, the vast majority of those resulting to be closer to programming skills rather than CT per se. Based on these results it seems that a common operational definition of CT, a competence model that indicates which competences students should reach at which age, and a reliable tool that allows to assess the different facets of CT are currently missing.