Student assessment in science in primary (elementary) schools in the United Kingdom is discussed in the context of the enactment of a National Curriculum. Sample science test items are included. Teachers must develop the skills required to assess students' learning in science and should not rely on external tests. (SLD)

Describes the selection and implementation of an authentic assessment model for evaluating students' science laboratory knowledge and skills. Provides sample problems and a scoring form for the performance-based science laboratory test. (MDH)

Evolution by natural selection provides the conceptual framework upon which much of modern biology is based: therefore understanding core ideas about biological evolution is an essential part of scientific literacy. Nonetheless, research repeatedly shows that high school and college students have difficulties understanding the notion of natural…

This report, submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, contains summary details of Delaware students' growth in the areas of reading, mathematics, writing, science and social studies. The results reported herein are part of a long-term effort to gather data on Delaware students' educational progress and use the data to inform decisions about…

A mixed methods approach was used to identify factors that influence the underrepresentation of Latinos in the domain of science. The researcher investigated the role of family influences, academic preparation, and personal motivations to determine science-related career choices by Latinos. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted using…

This PowerPoint report summarizes AISD student demographic and academic performance results at elementary schools as of the end of the 2007-2008 school year.

The framework and specifications for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment were developed in 1991-92 and field tested in 1993. The assessment was postponed, however, and will be administered in 1996. The framework calls for performance-based tasks that probe students' abilities to use materials to make…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens…

This publication reports the results of the second International Assessment of Educational Progress for science. Twenty countries assessed the mathematics and science achievement of 13-year-old students and 14 countries assessed 9-year-old students in these same subjects. In some cases, participants assessed virtually all age-eligible children in…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the most ambitious study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement to date. TIMSS developed and administered tests and questionnaires in three student populations to study achievement in participating countries and the factors associated…

This summary for administrators describes the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED), which are broadly based achievement tests for grades 9 through 12. The seven tests in the battery provide information about students' development in skills that are among the fundamental goals of secondary education. Emphasis is on the objectives that…

When teachers search the literature for activities they can do with their students, they are exposed to science process vocabulary that is improperly used and ambiguous in meaning. This is particularly so with the science process skills of observing, inferring, and hypothesizing. This study examines the process understanding of science teachers at…

Generative learning strategies are the focus of the study described in this paper. Research questions pertain to the effect of practice in the generation of analogies and summaries by Grade 7 students on their achievement in science, the different types and numbers of analogies that students generate, and students' perceptions of the effectiveness…

Science assessment has been included with mathematics and language assessment on the international level since the 1970s. This paper discusses techniques of assessment that have been utilized to measure science process skills. The first section discusses the Assessment Performance Unit, a British project with the aim of developing innovative…

Magnet schools have become increasingly popular as alternatives to traditional curriculum offerings and as tools to promote voluntary desegregation in urban school districts. Most evaluations of magnet schools have been concerned with monitoring objectives and compliance with regulations. Few reports assess the impact of magnet curricula on…