With the increasing importance of Computational Thinking (CT) at all levels of education, it is essential to have valid and reliable assessments. Currently, there is a lack of such assessments in upper primary school. That is why we present the development and validation of the competent CT test (cCTt), an unplugged CT test targeting 7–9 year-old students. In the first phase, 37 experts evaluated the validity of the cCTt through a survey and focus group. In the second phase, the test was administered to 1519 students. We employed Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to assess the instruments’ psychometric properties. The expert evaluation indicates that the cCTt shows good face, construct, and content validity. Furthermore, the psychometric analysis of the student data demonstrates adequate reliability, difficulty, and discriminability for the target age groups. Finally, shortened variants of the test are established through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. To conclude, the proposed cCTt is a valid and reliable instrument, for use by researchers and educators alike, which expands the portfolio of validated CT assessments across compulsory education. Future assessments looking at capturing CT in a more exhaustive manner might consider combining the cCTt with other forms of assessments.

Computational thinking (CT) can be considered a 21st century core skill and, accordingly, it should be taught to students at an early age. Nevertheless, the implementation of CT in school curricula is still in an experimental stage, given that different performance metrics remain unclear, including the appropriate age for learning each skill, the significant and achievable computational concepts for each school year, teaching strategies, learning effectiveness, and strategies for assessing development. Based upon constructivist problem-solving learning strategies and supported by a three-dimensional framework, a game-based environment with both individual and collaborative playing modes has been developed as a learning and an assessment tool via learning analytics. Moreover, an exploratory case study has been carried out involving 176 primary school students. Results suggest that this environment is suitable as a learning and assessment tool for CT skills in primary school, providing enduring learning, particularly when it engages the collaborative playing mode. It seems to be better adapted to early primary school stage students, who showed greater improvements and who were able to assimilate more computational concepts than expected. Likewise, special needs or low percentile students benefit even more greatly from the learning tool and especially from the collaborative playing mode. The combination of different assessment methodologies—including CT pre- and posttests, data-driven analytics, direct observation, and questionnaires—provides assessment for each of the framework computational dimensions.

Learning to program at an early age has been shown to be a vehicle for the development of Computational Thinking. Game-based environments are often used to develop these skills, but they lack sufficient voluntariness to assess aspects related to intrinsic motivation, such as interests, skills, persistence in solving a problem and behavior in response to rewards. These aspects directly affect achievement and academic performance, so it is necessary to analyze possible age and gender differences in order to adjust Computational Thinking curricula. With this aim, we deployed a voluntary video game which addresses basic computational concepts, based on intrinsic motivation, and aimed at early ages. Data were collected and analyzed using game learning analytics for 15 months, during which 4124 users played more than 28187 games. The analysis shows significant age and gender differences in relation to interests, skills, achievement, and progression through attempts. It was observed that the concepts addressed were achievable between the ages of 3 and 6 years and full mastery was possible by the age of 4 years, regardless of gender, as children persist with the challenge, intrinsically motivated, until it is overcome. In terms of persistence, significantly different behaviors were observed in the face of the challenge, which can help us to adjust the different learning methodologies to each age group and gender, adapting the way we provide reinforcement and rewards, especially for boys in the more complex challenges and for girls from the age of 5 years onwards.

Bebras tasks are considered to develop Computational Thinking (CT) and are currently used for this purpose in many studies. However, the relationship between Bebras tasks and CT is recent and, given the scarcity of validated instruments for assessing CT that are not associated with a specific learning environment, the expected development of CT through Bebras tasks has not been sufficiently evaluated, especially in Primary School. For this reason, we designed the ABC-Thinking program for the development of CT in which a set of Bebras tasks were selected and categorised according to the CT skills they were related to, specific lesson plans were designed to integrate these tasks in a 12-week curriculum, and teachers were trained to apply the program. Using the competent Computational Thinking test (cCTt) in a pre-post-test experimental design, we looked to determine whether Primary School students developed specific CT skills after the program, and, therefore, whether Bebras could be considered suitable for the development of this competence. The results show a significant development in specific CT skills, interesting findings in the gender differences in this development, and between high and low performers. Finally, qualitative data indicate the suitability of the ABC-Thinking program with respect to teachers’ practice.

Computational thinking (CT) is considered a key competence in today’s digital era. It is an emerging construct that relates to critical thinking and creativity. Research on its assessment is in the process of consolidation. This systematic review aims to analyze studies that have used CT assessment instruments for children and adolescents aged 4 to 16 years in order to identify which variables, they assess and their psychometric properties. The search and analysis were carried out following the PRISMA statement protocol, analyzing 50 articles published between 2006 and March 2023. An increase in the publication of CT measurement instruments is observed, with 54% of them supported by evidence of validity and 88% by reliability, highlighting construct validity, followed by content and criteria validity. China leads in the number of publications, while Asia and Europe concentrate most of the research. There is a noticeable contribution from South America, evidencing the lack of participation from Central and South American countries in this field of study.

The introduction of computing education into curricula worldwide requires multi-year assessments to evaluate the long-term impact on learning. However, no single Computational Thinking (CT) assessment spans primary school, and no group of CT assessments provides a means of transitioning between instruments. This study therefore investigated whether the competent CT test (cCTt) could evaluate learning reliably from grades 3 to 6 (ages 7–11) using data from 2709 students. The psychometric analysis employed Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, Measurement Invariance analyses which include Differential Item Functioning, normalised z-scoring, and PISA’s methodology to establish proficiency levels. The findings indicate that the cCTt is valid, reliable and gender-fair for grades 3–6, although more complex items would be beneficial for grades 5–6. Grade-specific proficiency levels are provided to help tailor interventions, with a normalised scoring system to compare students across and between grades, and help establish transitions between instruments. To improve the utility of CT assessments among researchers, educators and practitioners, the findings emphasise the importance of (i) developing and validating gender-fair, grade-specific, instruments aligned with students’ cognitive maturation, and providing (ii) proficiency levels, and (iii) equivalency scales to transition between assessments. To conclude, the study provides insight into the design of longitudinal developmentally appropriate assessments and interventions.