Determination of competency of programmers by classification and ranking using AHP

Evaluating the learners to determine their proficiency in programming is a challenging task. In this paper, we attempt to automate this task by analyzing dynamic data collected from programming platform through sensors. Since the performance of students in programming course and their assessment depend on multiple criteria, we model the problem of finding the proficiency of student as a Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem. We present a novel solution using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with which each student is classified into one of the expertise levels which represent their competency in a particular programming language. This competency based approach will help course instructors to grade the students. This grading helps the teachers to identify students who are facing difficulties in learning and to guide them to improve their technical skills. We validate our results by comparing them with marks scored by the students in the examination of that course.