The Competency Assessment of A Operational Skills in Air Traffic Control for Air Traffic Control Student

Abstract

This study aimed to: (1) analyze and compare the psychometric properties of an air traffic management competency assessment for students in an Air Traffic Control (ATC) program under Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT); and (2) compare air traffic management competencies between trainees who had graduated with a bachelor’s degree and those currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree. The sample consisted of 145 students enrolled in the Air Traffic Control program at the Civil Aviation Training Center, selected using purposive sampling. The research instrument was an air traffic management competency test based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, 2020) framework. The findings revealed that: (1) under Classical Test Theory, content validity assessed by the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) was 1.00 for all items. The reliability coefficient was 0.413. The item difficulty indices (p) were mostly between 0.80 and 1.00, indicating that most items were overly easy, and the discrimination indices were mostly below 0.20. Under the One-Parameter Logistic Model (1PL) of Item Response Theory, the reliability coefficient was 0.769. The test provided maximum information at an ability level (θ) of 0.4, with a total test information value of 319.51. The item difficulty parameters (b) were mostly within the range of −2.50 ≤ b ≤ 2.50, indicating that most items were of moderate difficulty. Overall, while the CTT results suggested that most items were too easy, the IRT results indicated that the items were generally of moderate difficulty. (2) Trainees who had graduated with a bachelor’s degree demonstrated higher air traffic management competencies than those currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree, both overall and across all dimensions.

Keywords: Air Traffic Management Competency, Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, Air Traffic Management