Work is reported towards the completion of a prototype duplex-design assessment instrument for grade-12 science. The student course-background questionnaire and the pretest section of the two-stage instrument that was developed were administered to all 134 12th-grade students at St. Clairsville High School (Ohio). Based on the information obtained…

The objective of this study was to investigate how classroom questioning and discussion skills, designed to increase scientific literacy and problem solving performance, affects student achievement in biology and chemistry. The two independent variables for this study were the effects of wait time and supportive intervention. The dependent…

Based on the premise that multiple choice tests can be used as diagnostic tools for teachers in identifying and remedying student misconceptions, this study focused on the development of an instrument for diagnosing secondary students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration. Information is presented on: (1) procedures of development of…

The novelty of deaf student teachers teaching normal ninth grade biology classes may increase motivation to learn subject matter if sign language lessons are oriented toward specific kinds of knowledge. Since Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.) places deaf undergraduate student teachers in schools with normal hearing students, the effects of…

The four chapters in this resource book provide general considerations for the development of teacher-made achievement tests in science for students with visual, hearing, and/or orthopedic impairments. Chapter 1 focuses on changes in classroom testing by considering the testing of handicapped students, norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced…

Three purposes of this study were to: (1) propose some organizing theoretical and observational definitions of the anchor construct; (2) present some initial findings from a diagnostic test designed to uncover anchors for high school physics instruction; and (3) provoke an initial discussion of the new methodological issues that arise in this…

This study sought to determine the cognitive levels of questioning of end-of-chapter test items accompanying selected fifth-grade science textbooks. The extent to which test items emphasized high level questioning and significant differences among texts in the distribution of knowledge and above-knowledge-level test items were also investigated.…

This document was developed to provide eighth-grade teachers in New York City with a sequence of instructional activities in science. The major portion of the guide is divided into four instructional units. The first unit, "Chemistry," includes lessons and activities on liquid solutions, suspensions and emulsions, acids, bases,…

This 35-item, multiple-choice Marine Education Knowledge Inventory was developed for use in upper elementary/middle schools to measure a student's knowledge of marine science. Content of test items is drawn from oceanography, ecology, earth science, navigation, and the biological sciences (focusing on marine animals). Steps in the construction of…

Research on teaching and learning supports the movement toward new assessment approaches. Educational assessment has an important effect on learners' growth, achievement and self-esteem. International literature includes a series of conceptual models that introduce the means and importance of student assessment from different perspectives. In this…

GUIDELINES FOR THE EVALUATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE PROGRAMS AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS ARE PRESENTED. CRITERIA ARE INCLUDED FOR (1) ESTABLISHED CURRICULUMS, (2) LIBRARY FACILITIES, (3) EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES, (4) FIELD EXPERIENCES AND AUDIOVISUAL AIDS, (5) TEACHER-MADE TESTS, AND (6) CLASSROOM TEACHING TECHNIQUES. SUBDIVISIONS…

Over 100 objectives, each accompanied by a related evaluation item, dealing with elementary school life sciences, are presented. The objectives are organized into the following categories: individual organism; population; environment; community; and ecosystem. Objectives are based on an examination of leading curriculum materials in the life…

Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics, and Ecology assessment instruments were administered to approximately 1,800 nine year old and 1,800 seventeen year old Massachusetts students. The 9 year old students exceeded the performance of a national and international sampling of students. They equaled the performance of a sampling of students from…

Reported is a study to investigate problems handicapped readers had with the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) test and of a method for adapting the test so that it might be more understandable. Seven questions related to the 1968-1969 ISCS test Probing the Natural World, Volume I were studied. The investigations of these questions was…

The plan calls for a six stage development process. Stages one and two represent a needs assessment for testing, in which the target population and general subject areas to be assessed are determined. The remaining four stages are performed for each test developed. They include: item pool development, item filtering at the technical and lay…