The Polish school education system makes a distinction between two types of assessment: (1) Intra-school or internal assessment; and (2) External assessment. The idea of introducing external examinations into the Polish school education system emerged in 1992. This was directly inspired by study visits to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands…

This paper is part of the symposium on "Gender and Assessment of Physics in Context: Getting It Right!" It examines ways in which current practices privilege the "masculine" over the "feminine" and presents an agenda for gender inclusive assessment practices. It is argued that physics like other domains of knowledge,…

The study described in this paper is part of an effort to improve understanding of the science assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It involved the coding of all the items in the 1996 NAEP science assessments, which included 45 blocks (15 each for grades 4, 8, and 12) and over 500 items. Each of the approximately…

High school seniors in Ohio who have passed all parts of the ninth-grade proficiency tests are required to take the twelfth-grade proficiency tests. These tests, in writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science, are designed to measure twelfth-grade performance and to evaluate the learning that goes on between the minimum competencies of…

This paper reports the results of an investigation into the relationship between school size and achievement. The study examined the impact of school size on mathematics achievement in Dutch, Swedish, and American secondary education and on science achievement in the Netherlands. The following research questions were explored: (1) Is school size…

The 8th Grade Test (1984) of the Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress includes 22 reading items, 39 geometry items, 41 science items, a 27-item student questionnaire regarding science opinions, and 46 mathematics items. The test booklet only is included here. (PN)

The purpose of this study was to determine students' perceptions about their biology teachers' attitudes and communication behaviors in classroom environment in Turkey. A Likert type questionnaire was constructed consisting of 33 statements divided to three sub-sections. The Cronbach's alpha reliability for the instrument was 0.9076. Results…

State legislatures and others are recommending and, in some cases, mandating reforms in education including evaluating students' ability to meet stated objectives. This "ideal" situation poses a major problem concerning instruments needed to assess process skills. In the real world, educators do not yet have nationally recognized, valid,…

This publication consists of a nuclear energy assessment battery for secondary level students. The test contains 44 multiple choice items and is organized into four major sections. Parts include: (1) a knowledge scale; (2) attitudes toward nuclear energy; (3) a behaviors and intentions scale; and (4) an anxiety scale. Directions are provided for…

The Assessment Policy Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has directed the NAEP staff to focus the 1985-86 Assessments of Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Computer Competence on the higher-order skills. Each Learning Area Committee worked independently developing three-dimensional models. These defined what could…

In February, 1988, random samples of students from five countries (Ireland, Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec) were given an assessment of mathematics and science achievement, and a questionnaire. This document summarizes the results of these…

This study was conducted to relate personal, cognitive, and school variables to physics achievement. The sample consisted of 435 students participating in the 1985 Mississippi State University Annual Physics Competition. The Student Background Questionnaire was planned and developed to collect information on each variable examined. The predictor…

Volume 1 of the Australian Chemistry Test Item Bank, consisting of two volumes, contains nearly 2000 multiple-choice items related to the chemistry taught in Year 11 and Year 12 courses in Australia. Items which were written during 1979 and 1980 were initially published in the "ACER Chemistry Test Item Collection" and in the "ACER…

The second volume of the Australian Chemistry Test Item Bank, consisting of two volumes, contains nearly 2000 multiple-choice items related to the chemistry taught in Year 11 and Year 12 courses in Australia. Items which were written during 1979 and 1980 were initially published in the "ACER Chemistry Test Item Collection" and in the…

The first of several planned volumes of Free Response Test Items contains geology questions developed by the Assessment and Evaluation Unit of the New South Wales Department of Education. Two additional geology volumes and biology and chemistry volumes are in preparation. The questions in this volume were written and reviewed by practicing…