FCI pre-test comparison: Cuesta College versus UC-Davis

Students at both Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo, CA) and the University of California at Davis were administered the Force Concept Inventory (Doug Hestenes, et al.) during the first week of instruction.

     Cuesta College    UC-Davis
     Physics 5A        Physics 7B
     Spring Semester   Summer Session II
     2008              2002
N    42 students       76 students
low   3                 2
mean 10.1 +/- 4.9       9.1 +/- 4.3
high 24                27

A "Student" t-test of the null hypothesis results in p = 0.20, thus there is no significant difference between Cuesta College and UC-Davis FCI pre-test scores.

The Physics 5A students at Cuesta College found these preliminary results interesting—while they are slightly more knowledgeable about the Newtonian physics concepts covered in the FCI as UC-Davis students at the start of introductory college physics, this difference is not statistically significant.

Later this semester (Spring 2008), a comparison will be made between Cuesta College and UC-Davis FCI post-tests, along with their pre- to post-test gains.

D. Hestenes, M. Wells, and G. Swackhamer, Arizona State University, "Force Concept Inventory," Phys. Teach. 30, 141-158 (1992).
Development of the FCI, a 30-question survey of basic Newtonian mechanics concepts.

Previous FCI results:
Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, Fall semester 2007 pre-tests and post-tests.