Purpose
The CATS Project is creating and validating two concept inventories—conceptual tests of understanding—that can be used to measure the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching and learning cybersecurity. The Cybersecurity Concept Inventory (CCI) is for students who have recently completed any first course in cybersecurity; the Cybersecurity Curriculum Assessment (CCA) is for students who have recently completed an undergraduate major or track in cybersecurity. Each assessment tool comprises 25 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of various difficulties that target the same five core concepts, but the CCA assumes greater technical background.
Major Accomplishments
We have created the CCI and CCA, and we have validated the CCI. We carried out an expert review of the CCA, and we revised the CCA using feedback from this review.
Current Tasks
We are validating the revised CCA using pilot testing and psychometric analysis.
Future Work
Investigate and assess how cybersecurity is taught and learned in offerings of the first-year cybersecurity courses (FYCCs) at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and the United States Military Academy (West Point, or USMA). The CCI will provide part of the assessment.