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…

The emphasis in this study is on the development of a diagnostic measurement model for instruction. The content used was junior high science, but the content and subjects were used primarily as a means to an end. The model represents an attempt to incorporate Gagne's learning taxonomy into Tyler's model of the educational act. Focus is on the…

Traces the development of a pencil and paper instrument which measures the change in pupils' (N=576) conception of the particle model of matter. Responses of four groups of children in grades 5-12 and university sophomore nonscience majors revealed that some cognitive difficulties are experienced at all ages. (CS)

A model is given of the Comprehensive Assessment and Program Planning System (CAPPS) in Indiana. The purpose of diagnostic/prescriptive teaching is discussed within the context of this model. (SA)

Explored the relationship between high school students' (N=37) performances on the Tomlinson-Keasey and Campbell paper-and-pencil test of formal operations and a set of traditional, individually administered, Piagetian developmental tasks. Correlations between the traditional, formal operations tasks and paper-and-pencil tests were low. (Author/DS)

Investigates the misconceptions in physics among South African students. The physics test which was administered to selected high school and college students is included. (HM)

The accuracy with which expert systems (ESs) score a new nonmultiple-choice free-response test item was investigated, using 734 high school students who were administered an advanced-placement computer science examination. ESs produced scores for 82 percent to 95 percent of the responses and displayed high agreement with a human reader on the…

Discusses the need for a science-technology-society (STS) approach in science classroom and describes the characteristics of exemplary STS programs. Lists five domains for STS goals and indicates assessment instruments for the domains. (YP)

Described are the results of a spatial skills test designed to assess processing from 2-D to 3-D, 3-D to 2-D, and orientation. Results indicated that different aspects of spatial ability did not develop at the same rate, and the 3-D to 2-D skill took the longest to develop. (CW)

Student test booklets, equipment and materials lists, directions for set-up, and directions for administration are given in English for the six countries participating in the science practical skills testing portions of the Second International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Improvement Science Study. (SLD)