Evaluating the validity of the new version of Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics (TUG-K) with high school students

Abstract In order to verify the kinematics graphs comprehension for a group of high school students, it is recommended to use an instrument that has a content valid by experts and a statistical validation. In this sense, was chosen the updated version of Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics (TUG-K), proposed in 2017 by Zavala and originally created by Beichner, in 1994. The TUG-K was elaborated to measure the understanding of graphs in kinematics of university students, mostly. Therefore, for this test to be used in basic education, it is necessary to know if it has statistical validity in this context. Consequently, a statistical analysis of the test was performed, after being applied at two different moments, with upper secondary level students of a federal school in Rio de Janeiro. The measured parameters were the same used by Zavala. The main result of this article was to demonstrate that TUG-K validity in this group. As a complement, it was shown that Hake's normalized learning gain from this group of students exposed to kinematics lectures was 17%, a value that is expected to be in traditional teaching. The underlying perspective is to disseminate and encourage the use of TUG-K in high school.