Compares science examination preferences of college students and faculty in Israel and the United States. Findings indicate that students prefer written exams in which time is unlimited and any materials are allowed. American students prefer traditional examinations more than their Israeli counterparts, and there exists significant differences…

Describes the design, development, and validity of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a test designed to assess student understanding of the most basic concepts in Newtonian physics and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Discusses various uses of the FCI and the interpretation of the FCI score. (JRH)

Describes the factor analysis and validity of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a test designed to assess student understanding of the most basic concepts in Newtonian physics and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Discusses problems in the use of the FCI and urges caution in interpreting and using FCI scores. (JRH)

Presents the Vector Knowledge Test that was designed to see if beginning physics students possess the minimal basic knowledge of vectors that will allow them to proceed with a study of Newtonian mechanics. Concludes that only one-third of the students in a calculus-based introductory course at California Polytechnic had sufficient vector…

Explores a possible model for the prediction of students' science achievement in China and the United States based on the ninth-grade database from Phase II of the Second IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Science Achievement) Science Study (SISS). Compares the structure of latent factors and model complexity between the two…

Describes the rationale, benefits, drawbacks, logistics, and student opinions regarding the idea of giving a two-minute quiz every lecture as a teaching reform that makes incremental changes, within the framework of the traditional lecture, in the direction of active learning. (JRH)

Discusses the use of multimedia in large-scale computer-based testing programs to measure problem solving and related cognitive constructs more effectively. Considers the incorporation of dynamic stimuli such as audio, video, and animation, and gives examples in history, physical education, and the sciences. (Author/LRW)

Research on developing technology for large-scale performance assessments in science is reported briefly, and a conceptual framework is presented for defining, generating, and evaluating science performance assessments. Types of tasks are discussed, and the technical qualities of performance assessments are discussed in the context of…

Outlines each of the papers presented in this special section, describes difficulties the arguments posed, and raises questions that might be put to the author of each of these discussions of new assessment methods in mathematics. Implications for the technology for the development of performance assessments are discussed. (SLD)

Describes the Anatomical Computer (CD-ROM) that was designed as a self-study aid for undergraduate and graduate students in anatomy. Provides text with illustrations, definitions along with summary charts, and more than a thousand test questions. Provides a valuable resource for human gross anatomy review. (JRH)

Studied the importance of occasion as a source of error variance in estimates of the dependability (generalizability) of science assessment scores and the Interchangeability of science test formats. Junior high school students (n=662) took hands-on and paper-and-pencil tests twice. Results show that recognizing occasion as a facet of error alters…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses are a routine part of the development of large-scale assessments. Less common are studies to understand the potential sources of DIF. The goals of this study were (a) to identify gender DIF in a large-scale science assessment and (b) to look for trends in the DIF and non-DIF items due to content,…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 includes requirements for annual state science assessments in elementary, middle, and high school. These assessments must be aligned with state academic content and achievement standards and involve multiple measures, including measures of higher-order thinking and understanding. This article addresses the…

Some studies show students successfully learning science through online courses. This study compared students doing an online and in-class lab exercise on cell division. Online students performed slightly but significantly better on a follow-up content quiz, however, about half those expressed a strong preference for in-class lab work.

The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine whether or not the construction of concept maps by students improves their achievement and ability to solve higher order questions in chemistry, (2) investigate the differential effect of the treatment by gender and achievement level, and (3) explore the relationships between performance on concept…