Development of the ( adaptive ) Computer Literacy Scale ( CLS )

The paper describes the development of the computer literacy scale (CLS), an objective knowledge test estimating the ability to understand ICT related symbols, functional elements and interaction patterns as an essential aspect of computer literacy that reliably predicts successful ICT interaction. The original version (CLS-ST) was developed as a paper & pencil questionnaire and has been used in a variety of studies including older participants. The second version (CLA-IA) allows for the assessment of procedural knowledge in online work samples. The third version (CLS+) adds more difficult items to extend the measurement range to more proficient users. For the fourth version (CLS adaptive), still more items were added and those items that fit the Rasch model were selected for the item bank used in the adaptive version of the CLS, which reduces testing time to under five minutes while maintaining high reliability. Practitioner Summary: The paper describes the development of the computer literacy scale (CLS), a short objective test estimating basic ICT interaction knowledge that reliably predicts successful ICT interaction. The obtained CLS-score can be used as control variable in research involving participants using ICT and as a measure of universal usability in design projects. CLS can be obtained from www.computer-literacy.net and used for free.