Assessment of Quality for Middle Level and High School Student‐Generated Water Quality Data

Student scientists have analyzed groundwater used for drinking water in rural areas to understand groundwater quality. This was part of a greater effort to understand risks to drinking water. The data produced by middle level and high school students have not been accepted by experts because of concerns about method and student accuracy. We assessed the inherent errors associated with method accuracy, student precision, and sample variability to establish bounds for attainable trueness in water analyses. Analytical test kits and probes were evaluated for the determination of pH, conductivity, chloride, hardness, iron, total soluble metals, and nitrate. In terms of precision, all methods met or exceeded design specifications. Method trueness was variable and in general ranged from good to poor depending on method. A gage reproducibility and repeatability analysis of instrumental methods (pH and conductivity) partitioned the variances into student error (12‐46%), instrumental error (8‐21%), and random error (45‐68%). Overall, student‐generated data met some of the quality objectives consistent with the method limitations. Some methods exhibited a systematic bias and data adjustment may be necessary. Given good management of the student analyst process, it is possible to make precise and accurate measurements consistent with the methods specifications.