Bebras-Based Assessment for Computational Thinking: Performance and Gender Analysis

Abstract

This study presents the design and validation process of a new Bebras-based instrument to assess computational thinking (CT) in 7th-grade students. An initial version of the test, composed of 18 multiple-choice items, was piloted with 80 students and revised based on their performance and classroom feedback. The final version, composed of 17 tasks balanced across CT components and difficulty levels, was administered to 1513 students from 86 Spanish schools. No significant gender differences were found in overall performance, supporting the potential of Bebras tasks to provide equitable assessment. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a dominant factor explaining 20% of the variance, and additional evidence (Lord’s index = 10.61) supported the use of a one-dimensional model despite the ambiguous dimensionality of the domain. BBACT offers a balanced and theoretically grounded tool for assessing CT in compulsory education and lays the foundation for future work exploring its validity and application across diverse contexts.