Presents a diagnostic test for measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion. Three general steps were used: (1) defining the content boundaries; (2) collecting information on students' misconceptions; and (3) instrument development. The split half reliability was 0.74, difficulty indices ranged from 0.23 to 0.95, and the…

Describes how one instructor developed a biology questionnaire designed to get students interacting and thinking about biology course content on the first day of class. Discusses why student interest is captured, how the questions are made, and how the questionnaire results are used in class. Contains a 15-question true/false questionnaire. (LZ)

Argues that science educators often face the problem of abnormal distributions when conducting large-scale assessments or evaluating national curriculum projects that require complex sampling plans. Examines the precision of science test scores. (DDR)

Assesses sex and race differences in student science achievement in urban middle schools where teachers were involved with Ohio's statewide systemic initiative professional development. Contains 51 references. (DDR)

An analytic framework is presented for examining the properties and objectives of assessments and scoring systems piloted in a number of state and district testing programs. The article explores the application of this framework, which considers the cognitive components of competence described in studies of expertise, to the analysis of science…

Since many of the important energy-transferring pathways involve synthesis or degradation of biological macromolecules, observations of the enzymes responsible for starch breakdown provide a useful case study. Provides a short, one-step assay for the enzymes amylase and amyloglucosidase. Topics covered include goals, preparation, assay procedure,…

Analyzes selected applications of hypermedia technology in science teacher education, mathematics problem solving, and science testing. Highlights include advantages for preservice teachers; anchoring instruction for mathematics problem solving in video-based macrocontexts; and increases student achievement levels on science tests. (LRW)

Describes several recent trends in elementary education involving enrollment, the number of schools, pupil-teacher ratios, minority children, reading, international comparisons of eighth graders, the Internet, and finances. (PKP)

The type of staff development necessary to improve student achievement is not the type of in-service where elementary teachers just attend a workshop to learn a specific activity to be used when teaching a particular concept. Rather, a comprehensive instructional strategy is the one designed to enhance student comprehension and mastery for…

The Rural Alliance for Improving Science Education (RAISE), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is a program that partners Oklahoma State University with three public school districts in Oklahoma. This program enables Oklahoma State University science graduate students to serve as resources in developing and teaching science…

The "Science Assessment and Item Specifications for the 2009 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)" (the "Specifications") translates the "Science Framework for the 2009 NAEP" (the "Framework") into guidelines for developing items and for developing the assessment as a whole. The primary purpose of the "Specifications" is to provide…

This paper reports research into the effect on 11-year-old pupils of introducing more cognitively challenging, practical, and interactive science lessons. Our hypothesis was that such lessons would increase the children's enthusiasm for science and their engagement with the scientific process, thereby improving educational performance. Schools in…

This is a research brief of a longer report, also published as "Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language Summary Report, 2009-2010". Twenty-nine percent of students enrolled in Austin Independent School District were English language learners in 2009-2010. The majority of them (62%) continued to make progress in English…

The Swedish school system comprises: (1) Pre-primary school (Forskola), typical age 1-5; (2) Preschool class in the compulsory school (Grundskola) typical age 6 (participation voluntary); (3) Compulsory school, typical age 7-16, grades 1-9, and (4) Upper secondary school, 17 programmes (4 mainly academic, 13 vocational), typical age 16-19, grades…

The National Science Concept Learning Study represented one of the largest and the most extensive surveys of its kind undertaken in Taiwan in recent years. A total of 36,093 students from the sixth, eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades participated in the main study. This paper provides the background information about the sampling and booklet…