This maybe of interest to some.
The FCS1: a language independent assessment of CS1 knowledge
http://www.neverworkintheory.org/?p=230
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1953200
http://computinged.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/the-first-language-independent-valid-measure-of-cs1-knowledge-allison-tew-defends/
http://www.aetew.com/
Kind regards,
Craig