This article considers the relationship between gender and self-efficacy in teacher trainees engaged in an electricity-related design and construction task. Quantitative data (examination scores, task assessment, and questionnaire) and qualitative data (interviews and written student reflections) were collected. There is a gender bias in student…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires states to measure the adequate yearly progress (AYP) of each public school and local educational agency (LEA) and to hold schools and LEAs accountable for failing to make AYP. Although it is required that science be assessed in at least three grades, the achievement results from science examinations are…

This paper provides a detailed description and evaluation of a three-year professional development project in a large urban setting in the southwestern United States. The impetus for the project was curriculum development focused on integrated scientific inquiry. Project goals included the development of a professional learning community, reformed…

To improve student science achievement in the United States we need inquiry-based instruction that promotes coherent understanding and assessments that are aligned with the instruction. Instead, current textbooks often offer fragmented ideas and most assessments only tap recall of details. In this study we implemented 10 inquiry-based science…

The paper compares the nature of the textual construction of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) science test items and the Greek school science textbooks. This nature is determined by the interplay of the notions of classification (content specialization) and formality (code specialization) modulated by both the linguistic…

Current science assessments typically present a series of isolated fact-based questions, poorly representing the complexity of how real-world science is constructed. The National Research Council asserts that this needs to change to reflect a more authentic model of science practice. We strongly concur and suggest that good science assessments…

Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…

Concerns over science education in the United States continue to grow due to the increasing global demands and competitiveness for careers in science and technology. This author contends that educators in the United States must look for ways to increase science proficiency and overall science literacy. Research about how students learn science…

Researchers in the areas of psychology and education strive to understand the intersections among validity, educational measurement, and cognitive theory. Guided by a mixed model conceptual framework, this study investigates how respondents' opinions inform the validation argument. Validity evidence for a science assessment was collected through…

Conceptual surveys have become increasingly popular at many levels to probe various aspects of science education research such as measuring student understanding of basic concepts and assessing the effectiveness of pedagogical material. The aim of this study was to construct a valid and reliable multiple-choice conceptual survey to investigate…

The objectives of this study were to investigate the alignment of exam questions with course learning outcomes in a first year biology majors course, to examine gaps and overlaps in assessment of content amongst the sections of the course, and to use this information to provide feedback to the teaching team to further improve the course. Our…

U.S. students have consistently lagged behind their peers in other nations on international science assessments--a performance increasingly at odds with the challenge of being able to live and compete in a global environment, powered by innovations in science, engineering and technology. A strong foundation in science is clearly critical if…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…

The international OECD PISA [Programme for International Assessment] 2006 test focused on the performance of Sciences of 15 years old students. The unsatisfactory results from Mexico were submitted to analysis, including multilevel models, to explain the origin of their deficiencies. It was clear that a differential functioning behavior or a…

In this study, we examined the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) among groups of students who were tested in their native language or in a different language when participating in the 1999 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Data from 18,837 examinees from three countries (Singapore, United States, and Iran) were…