The "TIMSS Advanced 2015 Assessment Frameworks" provides the foundation for the two international assessments to take place as part of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) Advanced 2015--Advanced Mathematics and Physics. Chapter 1 (Liv…

It is critical for countries to ensure that capable secondary school students receive further preparation in advanced mathematics and science, so that they are ready to enter challenging university-level studies that prepare them for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This group of students will become the…

This article reports on the collaboration of six states to study how simulation-based science assessments can become transformative components of multi-level, balanced state science assessment systems. The project studied the psychometric quality, feasibility, and utility of simulation-based science assessments designed to serve formative purposes…

This article reports on reactions to the U.S. Department of Education's first time decision to sit out an international study designed to show how advanced high school students around the world measure up in math and science. Mark S. Schneider, the commissioner of the department's National Center for Education Statistics, which normally takes the…

Presents an evaluation of a 16+ Nuffield physics test. Lists topics covered on the test. Reviews student performance and indicates that the text discriminated at both ends of the ability range. (SK)

Discusses possible impact of a new system of examination of high school physics students in England and Wales. Outlines the schemes of assessment that have been accepted by the Secondary Education Council as meeting the new National Criteria, and suggests how teachers might begin to produce their own assessment programs. (TW)

Discusses the science component of the Oxford Certificate of Educational Achievement (OCEA). Proposes that this measure be used for assessing the process skills of physics students as part of the new General Certificate of Secondary Education, which mandates that 20% of student's performance be measured in practical and experimental work. (TW)

This report describes participation, student characteristics, and achievement for 10 high school courses assessed by the North Carolina End-of-Course Testing Program in 1990-91. Subject areas are: (1) Algebra I; (2) Geometry; (3) Algebra II; (4) Economic, Legal, and Political Systems in Action (ELP); (5) U.S. History; (6) English I; (7) Physical…